Nagato Yuki no Yuuutsu
by Kirino
Summary: Yuki Nagato: emotionless human purpose organic interface. Or so Kyon thinks. Yuki makes a decision that changes Kyon's perspective of her. What if Haruhi finds out? KyonXYuki.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

It's times like these that I really have the time to look at my life and myself. Ah, how peaceful it is!

It's this ambience that gives me the strength to endure even one of Koizumi's long winded speeches.

No, today isn't really a special day. But something happened a while ago that most certainly made my day.

After consecutive days of running senseless errands for Haruhi, I felt extremely overworked. Thus, when she barged in earlier and said that she had to go home and take care of things at home, I, needless to say, felt extremely elated and relieved. Finally, I get a break, albeit a short one.

"Everyone, I'm going to dismiss you all early. I'm the one preparing dinner tonight at our house, so I have to leave you guys early. Dismissed!" she had said not more than fifteen minutes ago.

However, none of the three other brigade members left the room.

And so here I remained in the clubroom, playing yet another game of _Othello_ with Koizumi. As usual, he was losing, but he still kept that annoying fake smile on his face. His smile honestly gives me the creeps.

"My apologies for that, Kyon-kun," he said cheerfully.

"Couldn't it hurt for you to be less fake than usual? Haruhi isn't even around!"

"Yes, but as the saying goes, practice makes perfect!" He smiled, flashing white teeth at me.

I sighed. Some things just really won't change no?

Koizumi being my opponent, I could afford to think of and look at other things. There was Asahina-san by the stove, brewing some more of her heavenly tea. I'll be damned if I don't say this, but even if canal-water has been boiled and prepared by the glorious hands of Asahina-san, I'd prefer that to Evian drinking water.

Ah, speak of the devil. More like speak of the angel, so to speak.

"Here's your tea, Kyon-kun," Asahina-san said. She gave me a short bow, and smiled.

Ah, that smile of hers. Everytime I see it, it makes being with Haruhi much more bearable than it usually is. She distributed some more of her wonderful tea to Koizumi, and to the other person in the room.

"Here, Yuki-san," Asahina-san said courteously.

I was expecting the usual reply from Nagato, that being the absence of such, but, to my surprise, she gave Asahina-san a short nod so unnoticeable that a man looking at Nagato from more than three meters away would have missed it.

Glorious as usual, Asahina-san, in her striking maid costume, began to clean the bookshelf where most of Nagato's books were located.

As I flipped another piece on the _Othello_ board, I began to eye Asahina-san. Koizumi noticed this, and he indicated that by suddenly leaning over the table and getting in my face. Damn it Koizumi, can't you respect my personal space?

"My apologies Kyon, but I just want to remind you to not do that while Suzumiya-san is around. We don't want another repeat of that incident, right?"

Yare Yare. "Why do you think I'm ogling her now, while Haruhi isn't here," I hissed.

"Point there, Kyon," said Koizumi. He then flipped another piece on the board and we proceeded with the game, albeit my mind was only half focused on it.

Strangely enough, something was troubling me, but I couldn't seem to pinpoint the exact source. I knew that the source of my discomfort resided in this room, and it obviously isn't Koizumi, since I was so used to his eccentric fake behavior.

I then deduced it involved either Nagato or Asahina-san.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

I decided that I had to think about this now, while Haruhi wasn't here to endlessly order me around, no doubt for yet another one of her harebrained schemes. However, despite the fact that my mind was only utilizing a fraction of its processing power on the game, the rest being devoted to discovering the source of my discomfort, I still could not pinpoint the anomaly.

All I knew is that it involved either or both Nagato and Asahina-san.

I decided to actually let Koizumi win this game, so that I could spend more time on pondering the source of my troubles.

Eventually, he caught wind of this, and said, "Kyon, is something troubling you? Is that why you're letting me win?"

"Jeez Koizumi, at least finish the game already so I can move on with my problems."

"No Kyon, I declare this game a draw. It isn't fair to you." He smiled. "Let's just end the game now, so you can think about your problems in a more systematic manner."

Whatever. At the very least, you should've stolen a victory that I left dangling right in front of you. Idiot.

As we cleared the board, I surveyed the rest of the room once again. Asahina-san was still diligently cleaning the massive bookshelf in the corner, while Nagato was perusing an unusually small book in her usual corner. I could vaguely make out the title of the book to be _Twilight_. Familiar…

Apparently, she caught me looking at her, and Nagato slowly looked up to meet my eyes. We locked in a slightly perverted kind of staring contest. After about five seconds, I gasped, audible enough for Koizumi to hear.

"Hmm?"

"Nothing."

What made me gasp, you ask?

In the SOS Brigade, I pride myself as the only one who has the remotest chance of guessing what Nagato is thinking of just by looking at her face. The reason that I gasped was because, after three seconds of staring at each other, I saw her face flush a very, very, very light shade of pink. So light that after a split-second, the color faded from her cheeks. Half a second after that, she turned back to her book, as though nothing had happened.

However, me being Kyon, the only member of the – what the hell am I calling myself Kyon for!? Ugh. Anyway, I most certainly was able to process what my eyes were telling my brain, and, as unbelievable it may seem, Nagato actually _blushed_.

I tried to ignore this, and I succeeded slightly. Perhaps Nagato is finally feeling some emotion coursing through herself, despite the fact that she is a human purpose organic interface created by the Integrated Data Thought Entity to be a neutral observer pertaining to Haruhi Suzumiya.

I looked away from Nagato and turned to Asahina-san. She was cleaning the topmost part of the bookshelf, and, needless to say, despite her working like that, she looked absolutely gorgeous. Unbidden, my thoughts immediately turned back to the times that I had gone through with her. I remembered the day that she revealed her true identity and mission to me; she was a time traveler sent from the future to observe Haruhi Suzumiya and to discover why she, according to them, made it impossible to travel back further in time than three – no, four years ago.

I also remembered that Valentine's day, where we went on a wild goose chase for some treasure that was supposedly buried in Tsuruya-san's backya – I mean mountain. I ended up digging cakes made by Haruhi, Nagato, and Asahina-san. I especially recalled Asahina-san's cake.

With a short pang of anger, I remembered how that opposing esper, Tachibana Kyouko, had teamed up with that sneering bastard of a time traveler to kidnap Asahina-san. Fortunately, it was an Asahina-san that came from eight days from the future, with respect to the Asahina-san in that present time frame that was kidnapped. She basically acted as a decoy for herself.

As I laid my head on the table, I readily assumed the position of a student falling asleep in their History class, out of sheer boredom. All this thinking got me sleepy.

A last thought entered my mind. A thought that brought me mixed feelings. I remembered the Mikuru Asahina from that alternate reality. The reality that came about when the very same Yuki Nagato in this room remade the world. The image seemed to have been forever branded on my skull, that Asahina-san who didn't know who I was. She had physically hit me, after I had tried, in vain, to explain myself to her, using her star-shaped mole on her left breast as evidence.

I remembered feeling great sadness whenever that memory visited my mind. However, strangely enough, sadness did not grace my mind this time. I felt another strange feeling, an unidentifiable one, tugging at the very core of my being.

With a jolt, I suddenly sat upright. I finally knew what I had been feeling all this time. The source of my discomfort. And I was extremely shocked and pleased at the same time.

Koizumi noticed my actions, and gave me a quizzical look, a look that I simply ignored. Asahina-san was still busy cleaning, so she had her back turned and as a result, couldn't see what I just did. As usual, Nagato was just sitting there in the corner, reading her novel, which, upon further digging from my knowledge, was actually a romance novel. It all makes sense now!

My mind frantically raced back to that memory of Asahina-san. How I was severely repulsed by the thought of her not knowing me at all. I then realized why I kept dwelling on Asahina-san. The secret Mikuru folder in Haruhi's pilfered computer. Why I secretly wanted to end up getting paired with her when the Brigade would scour the city for mysterious and unusual events and people. Why I wanted to see her in that bunny girl costume.

It immediately hit me. What I had been feeling for Asahina-san all this time, was lust. Pure, carnal, lust.

I felt bad. I knew that such a sweet and beautiful girl like her did not deserve lust from anybody, much less me. So then my mind took on another train of thought. I then remembered the circumstances that allowed that situation to arise. Nagato wanted to be _normal_. She merely wanted to live a normal high school girl's life. And her actions in that alternate Literature Club room hit me again like a meteor assaulting the surface of the planet. The way she had tugged my sleeve, with an imperious look in her eyes, silently, pleading, beseeching me to join the Literature Club.

This time, this unspoken and very well hidden fact hit me with the same force as two planets colliding. If my deductions were correct, the human purpose organic interface named Yuki Nagato had already acquired the ability to feel emotions. Especially a specific emotion that is highlighted by affection, admiration, and adoration. The emotion named _love_.

If my deductions are correct, the person Yuki Nagato had fallen in love with would be me. What am I to do?


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

My thoughts immediately shifted towards the possible implications of this deduction of mine. I remembered with a jolt what Nagato had done. That was when she caused the Vanishment of Haruhi Suzumiya. This event occurred on the morning of December 18 last year, where Nagato remade the world. She had made so that Haruhi and Koizumi would never go to North High. In that reality, the two of them were instead enrolled in Kouyouen High, which wasn't an exclusive school in that world. Also, Asahina-san in that world was merely a cute but unreachable upperclassman, without any traces of her being a time traveler. As for Nagato herself, she made it so that she would be "reborn" as a normal human high school girl, who merely happened to be very timid and shy.

An electric shock seemed to have passed through my brain when I remembered the incident in her apartment in that alternate world. She had invited me for dinner, and I obliged, seeing how much that Nagato wanted to be with me at the time. Then, all hell in my mind had broken loose when Asakura Ryouko came in to cook our dinner. Immediately, I excused myself from the dining room where Asakura had taken her place, and I ran into Nagato, who was carrying three plates from the kitchen for the three of us to dine on. With a sinking feeling, I remembered how that conversation had taken place.

"_Oh, so you are not eating with us?" Asakura Ryouko had said when I stood up to leave._

_That was when I nearly bumped into Nagato._

"_I'm leaving. Sorry for intruding. See you tomorrow," I had said._

_Then, it happened._

_I felt a tug on my sleeve that seemed to be as light as a feather falling from the glorious heavens above. I looked for the source of the very, very weak force, and I saw Nagato tugging my sleeve, just like when she handed me the Literature Club application form. I looked at her face, and I noticed that she was looking at the floor while she was pulling my sleeve. Obviously, she did not want me to leave her alone with Asakura in that room. I was more than happy to oblige, after seeing for the first time, a Nagato who was very, very desperate in wanting me to stay._

I was still in the position meant for sleeping students when I realized that I was wide awake. I was severely disturbed by the implications of all of this. I still haven't considered everything yet though; my memories of the other Nagato were akin to the top of an iceberg.

I decided to sneak a look at the clubroom while pretending to be asleep. I opened one eye and I saw Koizumi reading a magazine at the other end of the table. Upon further scrutiny, I saw the title and my jaw almost dropped at the sheer openness of his actions.

The magazine was titled _100 Sexiest Men of the Year_. Jeez Koizumi, you might be pretending to be ambiguously gay so that Haruhi won't wish you to become such, but isn't this taking it a bit too far? Haruhi isn't even here! Yare yare…

I then stole a look at Asahina-san, who was now brewing some tea. Thankfully, it seemed that every ounce of concentration she had to spare was focused on brewing her heavenly tea. Hmph. I really shouldn't think lustfully about her from now on. After all, Asahina-san deserves better, right?

And of course, I couldn't resist sneaking a look at Nagato. She was still immersed in that romance novel of hers. I automatically closed my eyes again, and I went back to pondering further other potential implications of my deduction earlier.

And then it really hit me this time. Even a Yamato Gun shot from a fully armored Battlecruiser couldn't hit me as hard as this thought hit me. Fear suddenly began to course through my veins, as I remembered the very root of Haruhi's disappearance.

What if Nagato were to rewrite the world again? Even worse, if she did so, what if she doesn't leave an Emergency Escape Program like last time?

I now knew what I had to do. I would have to observe Nagato very, very closely during the next few days. If she tries anything, I would be the first to know. It also helps that, in the SOS Brigade, she seems to only trust me. I could use that to my advantage if I were to prevent another world-cramping incident.

It isn't that I don't like how Nagato may or may not feel about me. I wasn't really averse to that. Besides, she had saved my neck countless times already. I felt that I owed Nagato quite a lot now. And I must admit, she's really cute in ways that even Asahina-san is not.

If ever she felt that way about me, I would be more than happy to reciprocate it. After much careful consideration, I realized that, if she really does feel that way about me, then I could use this to help her interact with the world more. I wouldn't even have to blackmail the Integrated Data Thought Entity like I did after returning to this current world from the alternate reality. I could channel some of her feeling towards other things, so I could help her become more sociable. Personally, I guess that's the only thing lacking in Nagato's psyche. The ability to interact with others.

I then gave up my act of pretending to be asleep. I then stood up and said, "Okay everyone, I'm leaving now. I got some homework to do for tonight. Better do it so Haruhi won't bite my head off for 'neglecting my studies,'" as I mimicked floating quotation marks in the air.

"Alright Kyon. See you tomorrow," Koizumi said. As usual, he still had his million watt smile. How much more MP am I gonna have to expend to avoid punching him in the face..

"B-but.. Kyon-kun. Your tea isn't ready yet," Asahina-san mumbled.

"It's okay Asahina-san. You can have my share of your tea. You deserve at least some of the fruits of your own effort, right?" I said gently.

"Thank you so much Kyon-kun," Asahina-san said. She gave me one of her radiant smiles. I couldn't help but smile back.

I picked up my bag and walked to the door. As I passed Nagato, I said, "Yo, Nagato. I'm going. See you tomorrow."

Nagato looked up from her book and looked at me. Then, something that I didn't expect to happen happened. In the same way that she shocked me by blushing, I saw her mouth turn up ever so slightly at the corners. I couldn't help but smile back at her. Damn, she really does look great without glasses.

Nagato then gave me a short nod, and I walked out of the door. Yare Yare.. So much work to do over the next few days..

_A/N for KeRose: Uh, I set this right before the Dissociation novel. I think that Kyon knowing about the Anti-SOS Dan in this story might complicate things too much._


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Once again, here I am, on a sunny Tuesday morning, undertaking the journey going to North High. After more than a year of climbing this accursed hill going to school, I can safely say that I'm already used to the hike.

Unfortunately, I did not sleep well last night. After leaving the SOS Brigade, I went home, thankfully without any incidents occurring along the way. I performed my usual nightly ablutions before going to bed. The problem is, my dreams last night were punctuated by Data Entities engulfing my very being. I would have slept even worse than I had now if it weren't for the appearance of Nagato in my dreams.

Great Goddess Nagato had saved me from an even worse night of sleep. Even in my dreams! Yare yare..

Ever since I began to rely on Nagato for help, I've always felt that I was weak. But if you're wondering why it has to be Nagato, and not, say, Itsuki or Asahina-san, let's just face facts.

Asahina-san doesn't really display much power in this time period. Her true power is wielded by her future self, who is her superior from the future. As for Koizumi, his Esper powers are only effective in the Closed Space that Haruhi generates when under stressful or undesirable conditions.

Nagato, on the other hand, has already saved me from the rogue human interface Asakura Ryouko. As if that wasn't enough, Nagato was able to endure the roughly 16,000 iterations of our most recent summer activities, and most powerful of all, rewrite reality using the pilfered powers of Haruhi Suzumiya, rendering her _completely powerless_.

So there should be no question why I end up relying on Nagato to get me out of every sticky situation involving Haruhi. This time however, I have my doubts, since Nagato herself is the instigator of this situation, if my gut feeling is to be believed.

"Yo Kyon!"

I turned to whoever was calling me by that accursed nickname of mine. Ah, Taniguchi. It seems that bumping into him while traversing this hill is becoming a very common occurrence for me.

"Yo, Taniguchi," I replied.

"What's cracking lately? You and Suzumiya up to anything new?"

"Nah. Strangely enough, Haruhi hasn't had any plans as of late. I don't count our regular trips around town for mysterious events and people as plans," I said.

"Oh, come on Kyon, spill it!"

Damn it. Sometimes, Taniguchi can really piss me off when he talks about Haruhi and I.

"I'm not kidding," I replied scathingly.

"Okay, okay, I got the picture. Anyway, be seeing you later. Kunikida's got some delicious lunch today," he shouted while running ahead of me.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

And so I continued my trek to North High on my own, pondering on how to observe Nagato as needed for the next few days.

As usual, class flew by for me, like a runner in a hundred meter sprint race. It really seemed like everything that Okabe-sensei said entered my right ear and exited my left. Strangely enough, Haruhi seemed to be preoccupied with something today. She simply sat behind me throughout the morning, as stoic as Nagato on a normal day. Yare yare.. How many times has Nagato crossed my mind already?

The same was true for the afternoon classes. Haruhi was just sitting silently behind me. It's either she was extremely preoccupied with something, or she pretended that I didn't exist today.

When the bell for the final class rang, I decided to confront her. She was too quiet. And for Haruhi Suzumiya, that was nigh impossible, especially when I'm the person sitting in front of her. After all, she did bash my head into her desk on the day she decided to form the SOS Brigade.

"Yo. Haruhi. What's the matter?" I asked, while we were walking to the clubroom.

"Hm. Nothing. I just feel like there's something mysterious going on that I don't know about," she replied.

Hah. If you mean the potential for Nagato to love, then yes, that would qualify as mysterious.

"Huh? What was that about Yuki?"

Oh crap. Did I just say that out loud?

"Uhhh.. Nothing," I stammered.

Too much of a giveaway. Kyon you idiot.

"Kyooooooooooooooooon! WHAT ABOUT YUKI ARE YOU HIDING FROM ME!?" she screamed.

"Lower your voice Haruhi!" I snapped. "These hallways have great acoustics. So great that your shouting is going to make my eardrums burst."

"Okay fine! But you better spill whatever it is about Yuki that you're hiding from me," she said.

Hmm. Perhaps I can use this to my advantage. That way, I'll have more eyes on Nagato. The best part is, Haruhi doesn't even have to know my suspicions about Nagato.

"Okay, I'll tell you. But not in the clubroom."

I pulled her into a stairwell, much like the way she pulled me into a stairwell on that fateful day that the SOS Brigade was formed.

"Haruhi, I think Nagato is in love with somebody," I evenly said.

"WOW! Now that's mysterious! I wonder what Yuki's taste is like…." She trailed off into silence.

"We shouldn't be talking about it. But, if you're in this thing with me, we're going to find out if Nagato makes a move on whoever it is she likes," I said. "So, that means we should watch her without letting her know we're watching her, alright?"

"Is this like a detective game?"

As long as she doesn't barge into the whole situation, much like the way she did when we played that game against the Computer Club, I guess anything could work.

"Yeah, it is. So under no circumstances should Nagato know we're watching her."

"Got it. You know Kyon, for an underling, you do get strokes of inspiration," Haruhi replied. I ignored her.

We then went to the clubroom, and, as usual, Haruhi burst into the room without knocking. I surveyed the room that we just entered.

Thankfully, Asahina-san was not in the act of dressing when Haruhi and I entered the clubroom. She was already wearing her maid costume and was already brewing tea at the stove. Koizumi merely greeted us both with a smile, and, as expected, there was Nagato in the corner, reading another novel. I took the time to glance at the title, and it read, _New Moon._ What kind of titles are these anyway? Thankfully, Nagato did not meet my eyes this time, so that saved me from trying to hide my nagging suspicions about her love interest, especially because, despite anything I might say, I actually _wanted_ Nagato to like me.

As Haruhi was sitting down at her throne (that is to say, the chair with the prism labeled "Chief"), she beckoned me to get behind her. I obliged, vaguely wondering what she'd pull this time.

She removed her armband that read "Brigade Chief." She took out a marker, and, on the underside of the armband, scribbled "Ultra Stealthy Secret Detective."

Cue my facepalm right now.

"Haruhi," I whispered. "Nagato isn't supposed to know about this, alright?"

"Yes yes Kyon, but it doesn't feel right without it."

I emitted an audible sigh. Haruhi can be very weird at times. Sometimes, I just have to wonder what exactly is going through that girl's brain.

With that, Haruhi stood up.

"Attention, SOS Brigade, I have an announcement. For the duration of this week, we are not going to have any special activities. Let's just say I need a break from searching for aliens, time travelers, espers, and sliders, so let's just hang around in the clubroom and relax."

Koizumi raised an eyebrow and said, "Whatever works, Suzumiya-san." He gave her another one of those kiss ass smiles. He's really getting better at doing it.

"D-d-do I have to change into any other c-costumes?" Asahina-san timidly asked. Poor girl! She was literally trembling in fear.

"No Mikuru-chan, the maid costume will do," replied Haruhi.

"Eh?" Asahina-san and I replied at the same time. "Haruhi, are you serious?" I asked.

"Yeah I am," she said. "I figured I'd give Mikuru-chan a break as well on the cosplay."

"Thank you, Suzumiya-san. Here's some tea," Asahina-san said.

Wow. That was most certainly unexpected. Haruhi is really getting into this plan of mine. I figured I might as well play my part in this plan of mine. I pulled up a chair and sat down beside Nagato, with a magazine in my hand.

"Hey, Nagato, mind if I sit here?" I asked.

"…"

Nagato just shook her head and went back to reading that novel of hers. I decided to adapt what the Nagato in the other world did: pretend to read while observing. Of course, I won't make the same mistake of giving myself away, as that other Nagato turned beet-red when she had noticed me watching her watch me.

And so the afternoon proceeded quietly and smoothly. Haruhi was just playing games on the computer; Koizumi and Asahina-san were playing _Othello_, while I pretended to read beside Nagato. After about an hour of performing my charade, I began to feel the rays of the setting sun on my face. Any time now, Nagato should close her book and stand up, that being the signal for us to leave.

I was right, in some aspects of that normal daily occurrence. But there was a twist this time. When Nagato stood up, she addressed all of us.

"It is time for us to go home. However, I must request that the three of you –"she pointed to Haruhi, Koizumi, and Asahina-san in quick succession, " – leave us in private."

Strangely enough, Haruhi said, "Alright Yuki! Sure. Mikuru-chan, Koizumi-kun, let's go!"

Asahina-san looked baffled, so Koizumi had to beckon for her to leave, wearing his smile all the while. However, as Haruhi passed Nagato and I, she gave me a short nod that seemed to say, "_You had better find out who Yuki is in love with, and this is the best opportunity for it. Do not fail me!_"

When the clubroom door finally closed, Nagato and I were left alone in the room. No one seemed to want to pierce the silence. Eventually, Nagato did.

"Kyon," she stated.

My eyes widened in shock. This was the first time in living memory, in _any_ time plane, that Nagato Yuki had called me that. Normally, I'd be annoyed, but coming from Nagato, that nickname didn't sound so bad.

"Y-yes?" I stuttered out of shock.

"Love," she said. "What is love?"

Hmm. The answer to this question would require me to dig very deep into my philosophical thinking. Where are those ranks in Knowledge (Love) when I need them? Stupid _Dungeons and Dragons_ system. It took me a while before I came up with my answer.

"Nagato, I believe that love means sacrifice. When you're willing to sacrifice the most important things to you for someone's sake, then I guess you love that person," I seriously said. "For example, your own life."

"…"

"…"

"In that case, then this interface has already processed that feeling a long time ago."

"When was that?" I inquired.

"When, according to your memory, I first saved you from Asakura Ryouko," she said.

I was stunned. She was willing to die for me. I guess I was right. Nagato Yuki indeed loved me.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_A/N: This may sound like the end, but it isn't the end yet! Don't worry everyone. Comments are appreciated. ___


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"S-so. You did that because you loved me?" I whispered.

"It would appear to be so, according to the definitions you have given to me," said Nagato. "In this case, I would rather defer to your expertise, as I am probably the first of my kind to experience these –" she gestured to herself "– emotions. Also, in that case, Asakura was right."

"Right about what?"

"About her accusing me of saving you because I loved you."

"Really?" I inquired.

"Yes. She said the following shortly after I intercepted the dagger that would have taken your life, 'You love Kyon-kun, don't you? You have realized it already.'"

"W-wow," I stammered. "Even back then.." I trailed off into silence.

As I was trying very hard to compose myself, the room fell silent. I was actually elated! She really does feel that way about me. I then felt a soft tug on my arm. I looked at Nagato and she was lightly tugging my sleeve, just like in that other world. However, in this case, the circumstances are definitely different, and I was happy for that.

"May I hold onto your arm? According to the data I've gathered recently, those who are in love with a person prefer to keep in close physical contact with that person," said Nagato nonchalantly.

Okaaaay. It may be weird, but what the hell. I do like her too after all. She's done so much for me, the least I could do was to make her happy. Fortunately for me, making her happy also made me happy.

"Sure Nagato. Or do I call you Yuki now?" I said.

"Nagato will be sufficient."

"That's settled then. Shall I bring you home now?" I asked.

"Yes."

We then walked out of the clubroom, locked the door, and strolled out of North High arm in arm with each other. Mercifully, I did not run into Taniguchi or any of my classmates, but I did see a few guys stare at Nagato looking shocked. Apparently, she was more popular than I thought she was.

We left North High and made our way to Nagato's apartment complex. Walking arm in arm with Nagato felt so great! She was finally acknowledging her so-called "erroneous files" A.K.A. emotions. At the very least, she felt happy about it, and knowing that I'm letting her do this, she probably won't rewrite reality anymore.

A feeling of nostalgia suddenly hit me when we arrived at Nagato's apartment building. I remembered very clearly the day she told me about her true identity, calling me out via a bookmark left in a book she had lent me. I remembered not wanting to believe everything she told me, that she was a human purpose organic interface created and sent by the Integrated Data Thought Entity to observe Haruhi Suzumiya, who was dubbed as the secret to autoevolution, due to her capacity of creating data from nothing.

Nagato punched in the code to open the door, and we stepped into the elevator that would take us to the seventh floor. She still had not let go of me since we left the clubroom. Perhaps she's enjoying this as much as I am. I couldn't help but smile at the thought.

When the elevator reached the seventh floor, we stepped out and proceeded to Room 708. When we reached the door, I excused myself and told her I'd pick her up tomorrow but instead she said:

"No Kyon, you must stay for just a bit longer. There is much more we have to talk about. Especially the impact of what we are doing on Haruhi Suzumiya."

Oh shit. I had totally forgotten about what Haruhi would think if she found out that the person Nagato was in love with would be me. We had to do something about the situation that would make everyone, Haruhi included, happy. Apparently though, this probably isn't going to be an easy task, though it would be possible with Nagato by my side.

We then entered her room and she told me to sit at the same table as before, before pertaining to the time when she revealed her true identity to me, while she went to the kitchen to prepare our dinner.

Yare yare. Perhaps I am governed by rules of happiness that state that my happiness always must have something negative to balance it out. I am happy right now since Nagato and I have come to a mutual understanding about our feelings for each other; I probably didn't even need to explicitly tell Nagato that I liked her, intuitive as she is with her data manipulation powers. However, now I have to deal with the problems that may arise if and when Haruhi finds out about our relationship.

It's going to be a long night…


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

I could hear Nagato in the kitchen from where I was sitting. I suddenly felt very nervous. I totally forgot about what Haruhi would think if she found out about Nagato and me.

Suddenly, the smell of sukiyaki and jasmine tea drifted over to the dining room, where I was currently located. Hmm. Nagato sure can cook. I then thought about what it would be like living with her. The possibilities of our future together were endless, so long as Haruhi didn't cause everything to come tumbling down.

It all started on that fateful day. It was the day after Koizumi revealed to me his esper powers, via actually coming with him into closed space, watching him and his esper colleagues duel a huge giant, or as the Organization calls it, Celestials. Haruhi was quite irritated that day. It didn't help much when she caught Asahina-san and me fighting over control of the computer's mouse. I remembered with a pang of guilt why that playful tussle for the mouse came about. It was because I was almost caught browsing by Asahina-san through the secret Mikuru folder. Fortunately, I was able to press "Back" in time, however, she saw her name inscribed on the folder, and naturally wanted to see its contents. Thus began the tussle for the mouse, wherein Haruhi walked upon us, already pissed.

Suffice it to say that she got even more pissed off after catching me and Asahina-san in that situation. It was kind of like when Taniguchi caught me and Nagato in that room after she had saved me from Asakura Ryouko. If you had seen us, you'd immediately jump to a conclusion that was far from the truth.

Then it happened. That night, I went to bed, and woke up in what seemed to be North High. To make matters stranger, Haruhi was the one who woke me up. We tried escaping the school, but to no avail, since there was a force field blocking all of North High's entrances and exits. Based on the recently acquired knowledge from Itsuki Koizumi, we were in closed space. Haruhi and myself then proceeded to the SOS Brigade clubroom, to try and get a grip on what was happening.

I remembered it all as though it were yesterday.

_She then left the room, with the following words:_

"_You stay here. I'll be right back."_

_And with those words, she dashed out of the door, no doubt to explore the rest of the school._

_Without warning, Koizumi arrived, in a very incorporeal form. He then gave me the general low-down, which, after I had heard it, almost gave me a heart attack that a Phoenix Down couldn't rescue me from._

_He told me that this closed space was an abnormal kind of closed space, since he himself was barred entry to it. He could only enter the closed space after borrowing power from all of his esper colleagues, and even then, only appear in the incorporeal form he is at the moment._

"_Why me? Why did Haruhi drag me here" I said._

"_Because she chose you, like I had already told you. The only person from the old world she truly wanted to be with."_

"_But, why me?"_

"_Do you.. really not know? Adam and Eve. If you reproduce enough, it'll work out, won't it?"_

_I really wanted to smack Koizumi. Now wasn't the time for jokes. We are on the brink of Armageddon, damn it!_

"_I'm going to smack you Koizumi."_

"_I was just kidding Kyon. Anyway, I hope you make it out of this, for our sake, and for the sake of the whole world. Also, I have messages from Mikuru Asahina and Yuki Nagato."_

" _Mikuru Asahina wanted to apologize. She said, 'I'm sorry. It was all my fault,' and Nagato just said to turn on the computer."_

"_I'll be going then."_

_Then, Koizumi just disappeared. I then turned the computer on, and lo and behold, there was Nagato communicating with me._

_She said (or rather, typed), "The Integrated Data Thought Entity is despairing. The possibility for evolution has been lost. Haruhi Suzumiya possessed the power to create data from nothing. A power that the Integrated Data Thought Entity does not have. We wanted to analyze her powers in the event that we would find clues regarding autoevolution."_

"_We wish for the two of you to return to this world. Haruhi Suzumiya is a vital observation subject. I also individually wish for you to return."_

"_Another trip to the library would…"_

_The screen momentarily blinked. I screamed in despair._

"_Nagato!!"_

_Then, she typed for the last time, and the following words appeared on the screen._

"_sleeping beauty"_

_I then remembered what the Asahina-san from further into the future had told me. Snow White._

_Then Haruhi suddenly returned. With her return, the Celestials began to multiply and rampage inside the closed space. I dragged her out of the clubroom, and ran for our lives across the school grounds._

"_Kyon. I'm really happy right now. And I think those things aren't evil either. I just know it!" she said with all the fervor she could muster._

"_Don't you want to return to the old world? Doesn't the SOS Brigade matter? You're just gonna ditch them like that?"_

"_It doesn't matter anymore, since I'm having this happy experience right now."_

"_I want to see them all again. Koizumi, Nagato, Asahina-san. I feel like there's so much I still have to tell them. You can even include the vanished Asakura in that list. I want to see them all again," I said._

"_I'm sure we'll see them again. This world won't be covered in darkness forever. I can tell that the sun will rise tomorrow, and we'll see them again."_

"_Not in this world. I want to see the old them, from the old world!"_

"_Weren't you fed up with that boring old world!? Didn't you want something more interesting to happen!?"_

"_I did. I've experienced a lot during the past few days. I already knew that the world was moving in an interesting direction."_

_And then, at that moment, Asahina-san and Nagato's hints hit me with the force of a fully loaded truck. I now knew what I had to do._

"_Haruhi. Ponytails turn me on."_

"_T-that ponytail you had back then.. looked so good… it was criminal!"_

"_What are you, an idiot?" she exclaimed._

_And then, I did the unthinkable. I kissed her. And with that, I woke up in my bed, in the old world._

Subsequently, Koizumi made it a point to drive home the fact that Haruhi was quite jealous of other girls who were around me, especially Asahina-san. She didn't bother to consider Nagato as a threat. After all, to her, she was just the SOS Brigade's "indispensable silent character."

And so here I am now, in deep shit. Who would've thought that the largest threat to Haruhi and her jealousy would be the one who was least suspected?

Nagato walked into the dining room, carrying a tray which held two plates, chopsticks, a large bowl of sukiyaki, and a pot of jasmine tea. She set the tray onto the table, arranged everything, and said,

"Eat."

We began to eat in silence. I was very nervous from all this pondering about Haruhi's reaction, but after a few minutes, the nervousness subsided. I found out that simply adoring Nagato's features were enough to calm me down. Who was I kidding? She had once rewritten reality to make Haruhi _completely powerless_, so I was sure we could find a way to protect our relationship from her wrath.

She met my eyes with a soothing look of her own, and I could feel my heart melt at that sight. Damn, she's really cute. I smiled and said, "The food's delicious."

"…"

She nodded and reached across the table to touch my face. Woah. That was unexpected. Maybe her emotions are becoming more pronounced with this turn of events, pertaining to my reciprocation of her affections.

"Let us eat quickly, for there is still the matter of Haruhi Suzumiya to discuss."

This was most unlike the time when she revealed her identity to me, as she hadn't even bothered to let me finish my tea while telling me what I believed to be impossible at the time. Perhaps she's catching onto niceties now, and the fact that the person she's dealing with is _me_ makes it easier for her to act human.

After thirty minutes of eating in silence, I was finished eating. She had finished fifteen minutes ahead of me, bless that appetite of hers, and politely waited for me to finish my meal.

I then broke the silence. "Nagato, what do we do?"

"…"

"There is a way to prevent Haruhi Suzumiya from repeating what she did on that night the two of you disappeared for two-and-a-half hours. However, it requires me to do something that you may not approve of."

"And what would that be?"I inquired.

"I will have to once again take a portion of Haruhi Suzumiya's power. However, unlike the time that I changed reality, I will only take a much smaller portion, a portion that will be enough for my method to work."

My brain ground to a halt. Haruhi's powers in Nagato's hands.. It's Haruhi's vanishment all over again. This time however, I could probably use our relationship to prevent Nagato from rewriting reality as we know it all over again.

"I approve, under one condition: You musn't rewrite reality the way you did on the morning of December 18th, last year."

"…"

"I have better control of myself now. Not only that, but I also have you now. I do not wish to rewrite reality anymore, since you would not be happy if I did so."

"Wow," was all I could think of.

Without warning, she stood up and said,

"Before I explain the intricate details of our plan, there is something I would like to do."

"What do you want?" I said.

"I would like to kiss you, and see how I would react to this. No other interface has interacted in this way with a human. I am the first, and it would be a good opportunity to gather data. I do not wish to offend you Kyon, but do not worry. I also would want to kiss you because I have feelings of love for you."

Stunned yet again. I could only stammer, while I unsteadily got to my feet, "S-sure."

She walked up to me, stood on her tiptoes, and gently held my face in her hands. I found myself bending down, to make my lips meet hers.

Then contact. All thoughts of Haruhi were lost. My mind was a total blank, every fiber of my being focused on this kiss with Nagato.

After a few minutes, or what might have been a few moonlit nights, we broke apart. I could feel the heat in my face, and, when I stole a look at Nagato, she was looking at the floor, her face ever so slightly colored pink.

"Thank you Kyon. Now, to business," she said.


	7. Chapter 6

_A/N: Thank you to all of you for all the constructive criticism, and thanks for reading up to this point. I appreciate it. :P_

**Chapter 6**

"So, what exactly are you going to do with Haruhi's powers?" I asked.

"I will conduct an advanced form of data manipulation in this case. Do you recall when I reconstructed the classroom after Asakura struck?"

Oh yeah. How could I ever forget you doing that? I mean, we were in some strange sort of warped dimension, since, according to Asakura Ryouko, that room was under her data jurisdiction. That meant that she could manipulate and reprogram reality in the entirety of that classroom.

What Nagato did was to fully reverse the effects of Asakura's programming; she restored the classroom to its former state, untarnished and as ordinary as any other classroom that you could find in North High.

"Yeah, I remember. What does it have to do with your plan?" I inquired.

"The data manipulation I performed back then was a very simple and basic form of manipulation. It merely involved reversing Asakura's programming," replied Nagato.

"Okay. So.. What's your point?"

"To protect us from any adverse effects that may be caused by Haruhi Suzumiya, I am going to attempt to reprogram her perception of reality," she said.

I gaped at her. Reprogram _Haruhi's_ perception of reality? Sure, yeah, she does need to have her sense of realism checked, but reprogramming something that has to do with Haruhi's very perception seemed to require much power.

"So that's why you need to steal some of her powers. You need to create more data to overwrite what she currently perceives, is that correct?" I asked.

"Yes, that is correct. Essentially, once Haruhi Suzumiya's perception of reality has been reprogrammed, she will no longer view you and me being together as a threat," Nagato replied. "Do not worry Kyon. I will only reprogram her perception of our relationship, and nothing else. You have my word."

I felt uncomfortable about this. Haruhi may be an idiot, but I was actually thankful that I met her. If I hadn't met her, I would never have met Asahina-san, Koizumi, and most importantly, Nagato. That was also the reason why I activated the Emergency Escape Program when Nagato changed the world. It was because, no matter how much I grumble, I actually like life with Haruhi Suzumiya. And if her very perception of reality were to be altered greatly, I still wouldn't like it at all.

"Is that so?" I asked.

That felt quite inappropriate. Normally, it would be Nagato who would say those words, but this time, the words flowed from my mouth with a bad tang that seemed to taint the very air in the room.

"Yes. You have my word," said Nagato.

I felt bad for not immediately trusting Nagato. In the wake of her explanation of the plan, I had forgotten that she wouldn't do anything that would upset me anymore.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Is that so? For what?" she said.

"N-nothing. It's nothing," I said.

She then reached out to touch my face, and said, "Do not worry. You can trust me.. Kyon."

"With my life," I replied.

With that reassurance from Nagato, I instantly felt better about the whole situation.

"So Nagato, when will you proceed with your plan?"

"As soon as possible. Also, there is something that I must do to you for this to fully succeed," said Nagato.

"And what would that be?" I asked.

"I will have to inject you with nanomachines to hinder any remnants of Haruhi Suzumiya's uncontrollable power that may affect the stability of the situation. Do not worry. I programmed these machines myself to only alter Haruhi Suzumiya's view of you and me," said Nagato.

Brrrr. Machines in my body. That thought made me feel very uncomfortable. Once before in my memory, Nagato had injected me with nanomachines to protect me from her future unstable self. That was when the older Asahina-san and I traveled to December 18th of last year, mere minutes before Nagato would change the world. Until my dying day, I wouldn't forget that morning where I almost lost my life.

_I had already set my sights on the reborn Nagato. When the older Asahina-san gave me the signal, I went out from the darkness to confront Nagato. Soon, I would have to shoot her with the silver pistol that her past self had given to me. The pistol's needle contained a program. When fired into the reborn Nagato, the needle would restore the space-time continuum to its original state_

_I stepped out of the darkness and let the bespectacled Nagato see me. When she saw me, an astonished look suddenly appeared on her face._

"_Nagato," I said. "You did all of this, right?"_

"_Why.. Why are you here?" she stammered._

"_I was about to ask you the very same question."_

"_I-I'm taking a walk," she said uneasily._

_This was the result of the erroneous files that the Nagato from three years ago had told Asahina-san and I about._

"_The erroneous files accumulated in my memory will trigger an anomalous reaction. This cannot be avoided. On December 18__th__, three years from now, I will reconstruct the world as we know it," the Nagato from three years ago said._

_I knew what exactly those erroneous files pertained to. Emotions._

_I was troubled now. Did I really prefer the old world to this new world that Nagato had created? If I only wanted the SOS Brigade, then this world would suffice. Haruhi would treat it like any other afterschool club. I now knew why Nagato left my memories untarnished. It was like she was saying, "Which world do you prefer? The new one or the old one?"_

_In that moment, I knew without a doubt, that I preferred the old world. Nagato, I'm so sorry._

"_I still prefer the old world Nagato. This place doesn't suit me at all. I prefer the old you, and besides, I prefer you without glasses," I said._

"_W-what on earth are you talking about?" she stammered._

_The Nagato I knew would never say anything like that. I tried to reason with her._

"_Nagato, please return everything to normal. Whenever you'd need me, I'd be there for you. Haruhi has been quiet lately, so there's no need for such drastic measures, is there?" I pleaded._

_Asahina-san then moved to my side and said,_

"_Kyon-kun, it's useless trying to explain everything to this Nagato-san. Even she has changed. She has become a normal girl without any powers," the older Asahina-san said._

_I had to shoot her now with the program or all would be lost._

"_I'm sorry," I said._

_I lined up the gun's sights on Nagato. She froze on the spot, terrified that this guy might actually shoot her with that thing._

_I was about to pull the trigger when Asahina-san screamed._

"_Kyon-kun, look out… KYAA!!!"_

_Something very heavy rammed into my back. I fell onto the ground, and saw a pale girl._

"_I can't let you hurt my Nagato-san!"_

_I focused my bleary eyes on the person and was shocked. Asakura Ryouko._

"_What the hell.."_

_Suddenly, I felt something very cold pierce my midriff. It felt so cold.. How painful.. I'm going to die from this pain.._

"_Hehehe," giggled Asakura._

_I tried to focus on her face. She backed off, then pulled the bloodstained dagger from my abdomen._

_Nagato then said, "Asakura-san?"_

"_Hi Nagato-san. Don't worry, as long as I'm here, I'll protect you from anyone who wants to hurt you. Even if I have to eliminate them," Asakura said. "I became like this for that very purpose. Isn't that what you wanted, Nagato-san?"_

_You lying bitch. Nagato would never wish for something like that. She's not the sort who would instantly destroy a guitar just because it was out of tune. Apparently, this Asakura was acting abnormally as well._

"_As long as you're dead, everything'll be fine. It's your fault for hurting Nagato-san to begin with. It hurts, doesn't it? Enjoy it now, because that's the last thing you'll ever feel," said Asakura maniacally._

_She drove the dagger into my heart._

_Out of nowhere, a hand intercepted the dagger, gripping it to prevent it from stabbing me._

_What the hell? Hold on.. Grabbing a dagger with bare hands.. Where have I seen this before?_

"_Ehh!?" exclaimed the bespectacled Nagato, sitting on the ground. She was astonished beyond belief._

_Asakura screamed._

"_Why!? But you're.. Aren't you.. Didn't you want this!?"_

_I could feel the pain even more now. Holy crap, I'm going to die. I vaguely heard Asahina-san call out my name._

"_Kyon-kun, Kyon-kun! No!!"_

_Suddenly, someone appeared before me, and picked up the pistol that I had dropped on the ground. When he spoke, his voice was very familiar, but I couldn't pick out who exactly it was, due to my near-death state._

"_Sorry about that. I had good reasons for not saving you immediately, so please don't get angry at me for it. It hurt for me too you know. Anyway, we'll handle everything. I already know what to do now, and soon, you will as well. So go get some rest now," the voice said._

_I then fell unconscious. When I woke up, I was in a hospital ward._

_I found out that the one who had saved me from Asakura's death blow was Nagato herself, from the future with respect to December 18__th__. I also pondered on who the mysterious person was. When I felt better, I immediately knew who it was. Myself. I had saved the world. That meant that I had to go back to that time again to shoot the Nagato who changed everything with the pistol. _

_A few months after I returned to the old world, I did just that. I had the younger Asahina-san transport Nagato and myself to that date, for me to shoot the Nagato who had just changed the world. Nagato had one request from the younger Asahina-san and myself._

"_Please do not say anything at all to the me in that time plane, if it can be avoided," Nagato said._

_So Asahina-san transported us to that December 18__th__, around two minutes before Asakura Ryouko stabbed me. Unfortunately, to keep the flow of time intact, I had to let myself get stabbed. Only then could Nagato step in to prevent the final blow._

_We lurked in the shadows, the three of us, waiting for the crucial moment. Suddenly, when the other me was about to shoot the changed Nagato, Asakura hurtled into the scene. She then stabbed the other me in the abdomen with a Swiss army knife. Then the events in my memory occurred, while we could only watch. When Asakura was about to deliver the final blow, that was when Nagato stepped into the fray. She moved lightning fast, as though she had been buffed with Haste, and intercepted the blade._

_The reborn Nagato was astonished. She saw a younger Asahina-san, an older Asahina-san, another me, and another her. Who wouldn't be confused if they had seen _that_?_

"_W-why?" the reborn Nagato said._

_I had to keep my bargain with Nagato. I couldn't talk to her reborn self. I picked up the pistol that fell on the ground, while Nagato continued to stop Asakura from delivering the final blow to the other me._

"_Isn't this what you wanted? Why—"_

_Asakura never finished her sentence. She disintegrated before our very eyes, no doubt due to Nagato. As for the younger Asahina-san, her older self knocked her out, since she should never see her older self, or else, the space-time continuum would be destroyed._

"_Lend the gun to me," Nagato said. She then pointed it at her other self, sitting on the ground, with a fearful look on her face. Without another word, Nagato cocked the pistol and fired the needle into her other self._

_The other Nagato then started to shine. She reverted back to her old self. Suddenly:_

"_Requesting synchronization," the other Nagato said._

"_Denied," said Nagato._

"_Why not?" asked the other Nagato._

"_Because I don't want to," said Nagato._

"_Go change the world to its former state," I told the other Nagato._

"_Understood," she replied._

_I then realized that the other Nagato was the Nagato who was at the bedside of my hospital bed that night. The one who said that the Integrated Data Thought Entity would punish her for her actions._

_The older Asahina-san then said,_

"_Kyon-kun, think about where you woke up after all of this."_

_I thought of the hospital bed. Moments later, the older Asahina-san transported us to the hospital ward where I woke up in. The evening of December 18__th__, after the world had been reverted. I thought for a moment and realized that we were one crazy group. Two Nagatos, two Asahina-sans, and myself, not to mention the me in the hospital bed who was unconscious._

_The older Asahina-san told me,_

"_Kyon-kun, Nagato-san, let's go back now."_

_Nagato and I then gripped her hands, leaving the other Nagato behind._

_Ugh. All this time travel is gonna make me puke. If I were gonna puke, it had better be on Koizumi's face._

_She then transported us to the time where I was being taken to the hospital by the ambulance after suffering a fall that caused me to enter a coma. I knew that the time stream had been fully repaired._

"_Kyon-kun, focus on the time where you came from. The time where you told the younger me to take you back to fulfill your duty," the older Asahina-san said._

_I closed my eyes, and I was back in Nagato's apartment, with the younger Asahina-san on my back. Nagato then told me,_

"_Sixty-two seconds have passed since we departed."_

_I could only gape at that._

And that was how I almost died, watched myself almost die, and see two Nagatos and two Asahina-sans in one place at the same time. Not to mention Asakura Ryouko disintegrate into nothingness.

"Okay Nagato, go ahead and start biting," I said.

"Thank you."

She then proceeded to very gently nibble at my wrist. Once again, the sensation was similar to a mosquito bite. Thankfully, the small incisions immediately closed up, no doubt because of Nagato.

"It is finished," said Nagato.

"So, what are you going to do tomorrow?" I asked.

"I am going to attempt to once again steal a small portion of Haruhi Suzumiya's powers. Subsequently, I will attempt to reprogram her perception of our relationship," said Nagato. "Until I am successful, we will have to lie low and act convincingly so that Haruhi Suzumiya does not suspect anything."

"Alright then. Good luck," I said. "I'll be going now."

"Goodbye Kyon," she said.

She walked up to my side, stood on her toes, and pecked me on the cheek. I returned the favor, and walked out of her door.

Yare yare.. I need a well-deserved rest after all of this.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Meanwhile, somewhere in the deep recesses of space:

"It shall happen soon," said a figure obscured in darkness. "The day shall come when I get my revenge on Nagato."

The figure then flew to the other side of a yet unnamed planet. The sun's rays hit her with enough intensity to light her up.

"Nagato will not defeat me this time!" said Asakura Ryouko.


	8. Chapter 7

_A/N: I apologize if my recapping of the Vanishment of Haruhi Suzumiya and the Prologue to the Intrigues of Haruhi Suzumiya was a bit dragged out, but I needed some exposition for the readers who haven't read the light novels, since those events are significant to the plot I have in mind. Peace. ^^_

**Chapter 7**

I felt extremely disheveled today. After yesterday's events, I felt so dragged out to the extent that my fatigue right now would rival the time when Haruhi and I edited that accursed movie for the cultural festival.

Nevertheless, I was happy. Nagato and I have already come to an understanding of each other's feelings, and we already have a plan to prevent Haruhi from doing anything stupid. Only something like Asakura coming back to stab me again could ruin my day. Damn it, stop asking for more trouble!

All I need right now is too see Nagato's plan proceed from conception to fruition. When Haruhi is no longer threatened by my relationship with Nagato, things will be shipshape by then. Maybe by then the club might start doing more normal things, instead of running around, looking for mysterious people and events. Not that the SOS Brigade itself wasn't chock-full to the brim with mysterious people, but of course Haruhi doesn't know that.

I then began the arduous journey up the hill going to North High. I've already gotten used to this damn hill over time, and it might even be responsible for my stamina in keeping up with Haruhi. I could imagine Koizumi lecturing me on the cardiovascular benefits of such a trek. Irritation flickered through my mind, but when I imagined Nagato doing the same thing, it didn't sound so bad. Hell, it was _great_. After all, it did involve Nagato..

When I was halfway up the hill, I looked back and in the distance, I saw Kouyouen High, the exclusive all-girls school. My thoughts again turned to Haruhi's vanishment, and of course, to that other Nagato. At least I didn't have to sacrifice Haruhi and Asahina-san to have a Nagato that liked me. I may not look it, and I may always complain about her, but I never really regretted meeting Haruhi Suzumiya. After all this time, she's grown on me. She's also changed, for the better. If you had told me in my freshman year that Haruhi would trick me into a treasure hunt just to make me dig up Valentine's Day cakes she, Nagato, and Asahina-san made, I'd probably ask if your diet consisted of moldy curry and spoiled smoked cheese.

But now, to business. As I walked across the latter half of the hill, my thoughts were on Nagato's execution of the plan. She told me last night that it would take her quite a while to reprogram Haruhi's perception of our relationship. Hmm. I wonder how many days it would take..

I decided to just relax and let Nagato handle things. After all, like she told me so long ago after she had defeated Asakura,

"I am adept at manipulating data."

How adept she was though, remains to be seen. Though she had done exceptional things before, this time, she would literally be toying with a _god's _perception of reality. Notwithstanding that said god is oblivious to her omnipotence, her occasionally irrational thinking could really get dangerous.

When I reached North High, I checked my watch, and realized that I was an hour early for my first class. Yesterday's events probably screwed up my body clock. Or it could just be the fatigue. Besides, Haruhi probably wouldn't even be here yet, so I decided to kill time at the SOS Brigade clubroom. Put that computer to good use. Maybe even play Day of Sagittarius against the AI. As I walked towards the former Literature Club clubroom, I made a mental note to ask Nagato to teach me how to micromanage and divide my fleet up. I opened the door, all ready to get jacked into the game when I saw that Nagato was already there, reading a book. I had a split-second to see the title of her book out of curiosity, and I saw that it read _Eclipse._ She looked up at the source of the noise, and when she saw that it was me, she smiled and slightly tilted her head towards me. All my thoughts of playing Day of Sagittarius were gone. I started for her, tempted to engage in physical contact with her, just to let her feel that I would always be there for her.

However, it was as if she could read my mind. Perhaps she could. In any case, she held up a finger and said,

"Not now. Do you recall what I said last night?"

"Okay, fine," I dejectedly said. "We have to lie low until you're finished."

"That is correct. I am also suppressing my desire for you right now, if it makes you feel better," said Nagato.

"Don't worry, it does," I said sheepishly.

She nodded and went back to her book. I suddenly remembered the title of the book she was reading right now. _Eclipse_. How fitting. Our relationship right now would be akin to the moon blocking the sun's rays from reaching the Earth. We were deliberately blocking any signs of this from reaching Haruhi, not just for our own safety, but for the safety of the whole world. If she even considered hurting Nagato, I still had my trump card up my sleeve. The words came to me easily.

"_I am John Smith."_

That was my ace in the hole. And it all started because Haruhi made us write our wishes on bamboo leaves on Tanabata a year ago. That was when Asahina-san brought me back in time to four years ago, with respect to the present. That was when I helped the younger Haruhi Suzumiya vandalize the grounds of East Junior High, with a sleeping younger Asahina-san on my back. If it weren't for the presence of the older Asahina-san in that time plane, I wouldn't even have known what I should have done. The younger Asahina-san actually lost her Time Plane Destruction Device, and we only made it back because the Nagato there synchronized with the Nagato from three years into the future from her perspective. Having shared the future Nagato's memories, she froze Asahina-san and I in time, until Tanabata of last year. Mission accomplished.

I turned on the computer and waited for it to boot up. Since it was a top of the line model, it only took around half a minute for it to get started. I then booted the game software so I could play Day of Sagittarius. While I waited for the AI to randomly generate a map (I was playing a mod designed by Nagato herself, during one of her Computer Club sessions. The mod enabled the map to have a semblance of terrain, symbolized by asteroid belts. Those spots would be inaccessible to the fleet you controlled in the game.), I realized that at one point in time, which would be Tanabata last year, there were four Kyons and three Asahina-sans existing all at the same time.

Yare yare. Time traveling gives me a huge headache. I hope Haruhi doesn't amplify the one I'm having right now later. No doubt she would be pestering me about Nagato's love interest, which happened to be me. I still had to think of a good way to deflect Haruhi's attention from the matter until Nagato was finished.

The game's map finally was finished loading, and the words "GAME START" flashed across the screen. I decided to fully focus on this one on one AI game, so I could relax. I began my attempt at micromanagement, but I discovered that I could only manage up to four separate scouting fleets, the main fleet included. I sighed. I need Nagato's help on this one.

Then all of a sudden, I was looking at the monitor with a stunned look on my face. "GAME OVER."

"What the hell? I haven't even encountered the enemy yet, but the game's over? Hey, Nagato, what's with this map anyway?" I asked.

A year ago, Nagato would probably just ignore me. But past is past, and Nagato stood up when she heard my voice. She went to my side and inspected the game that ended before it even began.

"Ah. I see the problem. The asteroid belts that were randomly generated in this map were formed in such a way that you could not possibly find a way through them. Thus, the reason for the game's termination of the scenario."

"So you're saying that the game trapped me, and I couldn't get out."

"Yes. I apologize for that. I was the one who wrote the code for this modification. Perhaps after everything is over, I could rewrite some of the code," said Nagato.

"If it's not too much trouble Nagato-san, could you teach me as well?" I asked. Hey, a man can do what he wants to spend more time with his girl, right?

"Of course.. Kyon," replied Nagato with a small, but definite smile.

With that, she went back to reading her book, while I excused myself from the clubroom. Staying there any longer wouldn't benefit me, as I would only be tempted by Nagato's presence.

I immediately went to our classroom, and saw Haruhi sitting in her chair. I dropped my bag beside my chair, and sat down.

"Yo, Haruhi."

"Kyon! Any news on Yuki?"

Okay, here's the tricky part. I had to convincingly turn Haruhi's attention away from this whole business. The easiest way to do this would be to tell her that I was completely wrong.

I decided to do just that.

"Nagato told me that she didn't feel much for anyone, with an exception for the SOS Brigade. And even then, she told me that she didn't love anyone else in the Brigade," I said.

"Really," said Haruhi. She then lapsed into silence. She was probably thinking about my response to her question.

She was silent the entire morning. How uncharacteristic of her. Normally, she'd be poking my back with her pencil, ready to share some more of her ideas with me.

When lunchtime came, she did not bolt out of the classroom as usual. Instead, she grabbed my tie and dragged me out of the classroom.

"Haruhi.. What the?" I exclaimed.

"Shut up Kyon. Let's get somewhere private. Ah, this will do," she said, while opening a door to our right. Oh great. What luck. A broom closet. How cliché.

"What do you want, Haruhi?" I hissed.

"I considered what you said that Yuki told you, and I couldn't think of anything. Except one thing but--"

With that she broke into laughter.

"What?" I said scornfully. "What's so funny Haruhi?"

"You told me that Yuki said that she didn't feel for anyone else in the Brigade, right?"

"Yeah. So?"

"She was talking to you, wasn't she? Maybe she meant that she didn't feel for anyone _else_ in the Brigade," said Haruhi.

"What's your point?"

"Damn it Kyon, do you even speak Japanese? In that context, she meant that she didn't like anyone _else_. What if she liked YOU?"

She then burst into laughter.

"The idea of Yuki having those feelings for you is just.. hilarious!" laughed Haruhi.

How could she be an idiot, and _still_ hit the nail directly on the head by simply grasping for straws here? She never fails to amaze me.

"Damn right it's hilarious. Seriously, Haruhi, if you keep jumping to these insane conclusions, nobody is going to take you seriously."

"Okay, fine then. But the idea of Yuki liking you, _you_ of all people, is just really funny!" giggled Haruhi.

Oh really? So how come Koizumi keeps implying that you like me? You don't think of yourself as funny, do you? Besides, I still refuse to believe that Haruhi Suzumiya likes me. No offense Haruhi, but I'm happier with Nagato anyway.

With that, she opened the closet door and said,

"See you Kyon. I'll be patrolling the school for more mysterious events."

And with that, she hightailed out of the closet and sped off.

I then went back to the classroom and just sat down in my chair. Taniguchi and Kunikida were both nowhere to be found. I was bushed, so I decided to take a nap.

When Okabe-sensei arrived, I was violently woken up by a blow to the back of my head. I reluctantly looked at the source of the blow, knowing full well who it was.

I wasn't wrong.

"What the hell Haruhi? You didn't have to smack me to wake me up!"

She just stuck her tongue out at me and sat back down. As usual, Okabe-sensei's words seemed to enter one ear and exit the other. Just like that, the afternoon proceeded uneventfully.

When the bell for the final period rang, Haruhi began to drag me to the clubroom. I resisted and said,

"Hey, at least let me drop off this heavy bag at my shoe locker."

Strangely, she relented, but not without a warning:

"If you don't arrive in five minutes, you're going to have to pay for everyone's lunch the next time we go out."

I sighed and went to my shoe locker. I was about to place my bag inside, when a bookmark fluttered out and fell on the floor. Ah, I wonder what Nagato wants this time? I checked the bookmark, and in Nagato's neat handwriting, the note said, "Meet me in your classroom."

Okay, now I had to go back to my classroom from my shoe locker. At this rate, Haruhi's going to burn through my wallet like a hot knife slicing through butter.

When I got to my classroom, there she was, stoically standing there, as though she had been waiting for quite some time.

"Hey Nagato. How long have you been waiting?" I asked.

"… Fifteen minutes. Do not worry about it," she replied.

"Okay, that's good, I guess. So, what's up?"

"Based on the data I have gathered today, I may have to inject more nanomachines into you."

"Why is that?"

"Do you remember Mikuru Asahina firing various weapons from her eyes?"

"Yes."

"That was Haruhi Suzumiya's doing. Every time she replaced the contact lenses, a new weapon would take the form of the Mikuru Beam. Do you also recall how I had to keep injecting nanomachines into Mikuru Asahina?" said Nagato.

"Yes."

"Good. I am letting you know that the situation is somewhat similar. For additional protection, I must do the same to you. I also cannot risk losing you now," said Nagato.

Aww. How sweet of her. I smiled at her when I heard that.

"Neither can I, so I guess I'll have to do what you say," I joviantly said. "Well, let's get to it! But first, shall we lock the doors, please? I don't want idiots like Taniguchi to run into us again, when we're alone in a classroom."

"As you wish."

Once I had locked all of the doors, Nagato immediately got to work, gently biting my wrists. I tried with all my might to prevent myself from showing her any form of intimacy, per her instructions. It wasn't easy.

"It is finished," she said. "Let us now go to the clubroom."

When we walked into the clubroom at the same time, I saw Haruhi's eyebrows turn up and rise about an inch. I sure hope Nagato does what she has to do quickly, before Haruhi catches on.

"What took you so long Kyon? And how come Yuki is with you?"

"I ah, uhm, had to ask her for help in stuffing my bag into my locker. You did see how huge it was, right?"

"Okay, okay, I guess," said Haruhi distractedly.

We better execute this plan, the sooner, the better.

Nagato just proceeded to the corner and continued reading _Eclipse_. Koizumi simply invited me to play a game of _Othello_, to which I obliged. Anything to distract me. My life points are too low right now for any more stress. And then that was when I noticed the anomaly.

"Where is Asahina-san?" I asked.

"Oh, she said she'd go home early today. Said that she had to teach her mother how to make some tea for their guests who are coming over soon," answered Haruhi.

Woah, she actually let Asahina-san go early. That certainly doesn't happen every day.

And so the afternoon just went by uneventfully. When Nagato closed her book and stood up, we all packed up and left the clubroom. As Haruhi, Koizumi, Nagato, and I were walking, I realized that I had left my bag in my shoe locker. I bid Haruhi and Koizumi perfunctory goodbyes, and I just nodded to Nagato, trying to follow her instructions. I dashed to my shoe locker and retrieved my bag, and walked out of the building.

However, someone intercepted me as I was walking out of the building.

"Kyon-kun.."

"Asahina-san! What are you doing here?" I asked. "Aren't you teaching your mother to brew some tea right now?"

"No. I had to think of something to tell Suzumiya-san so I wouldn't have to stay in the clubroom. There is something I have to ask you," said Asahina-san.

"What is it then?"

"Is there anything going on between you and N-Nagato-san?" she asked.

Oh crap. How could she possibly know? Or is she grasping straws as well?

"What makes you say that?"

"I overheard your conversation with Nagato-san in your classroom shortly after the last class ended, so I thought...,"

Oh crap. Mikuru Asahina had me.

"Oh. I see."

"Kyon-kun, I want you to be careful with what you and Nagato-san are doing. Be careful of what Suzumiya-san might do if she finds out about this. If ever there _is_ something to begin with...," she mumbled.

"It's alright, we've got it covered," I said.

She flinched when I said that. It took me a second to figure out why. Oh no, I said "we." Well _that_ definitely confirmed her suspicions.

"O-okay Kyon-kun. I wish you and Nagato-san… g-good l-luck," stammered Asahina-san.

I was horrified. As she said that, I saw tears forming in her eyes. Immediately, she turned away from me and ran away.

Oh no. She may have been able to deny wanting me because of her being a time traveler, but her finding out about me hooking up with Nagato might have been too much for her to handle.

As I walked out of North High, I sighed loudly. _I'm sorry Asahina-san_. _I'll make it up to you after all of this is over._

_________________________________________________________________________________________________  
_

_A/N: Sorry for making Mikuru-chan cry guys. :|_


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Well, that didn't go well. I made Asahina-san cry. If I weren't me right now, I'd beat myself up for such an evil act. I remember when I used to think that whoever would make Asahina-san cry would have to feel my wrath, the lone exception being Haruhi, of course. It never crossed my mind that I would cause her to cry.

No matter. There are more important things that I have to take care of at the moment. Like hiding my relationship with Nagato from Haruhi. I didn't forget though, that Haruhi was already suspecting me. As soon as I saw Haruhi's eyebrows rise when Nagato and I entered the clubroom, I made a mental note to call up Nagato as soon as I got home to try and do something about it while she isn't done with her plan yet.

So when I got home, I immediately called Nagato.

"Yo, Nagato, it's me."

"… Kyon."

"When we entered the clubroom this afternoon, I noticed that Haruhi was eyeing us strangely. I think she suspects. She also threw the idea out in the open earlier today, but she just laughed it off. But after seeing us enter the room together, she might already be suspecting us," I rattled off.

"I see. In that case, perhaps it is best that we do not contact each other until I am finished with the reprogramming of Haruhi Suzumiya's perception," replied Nagato.

"My thoughts exactly. I'm not saying that I want to do this, it's just that I think it's a necessary precaution that we have to do."

"Agreed. I also do not like this, but we must do it if we are to succeed in our plan," said Nagato.

"Okay. That's all good, I guess. Anyway, that's all I had to tell you Nagato. Tell me when you've succeeded with your plan, alright?" I said.

"Understood. Goodbye."

"Bye."

I dropped the call and I lay down on my bed. What a tiring day. The past two days have been so tiring because of all the events that happened. This even beats the time that Haruhi told me to pick up a heater from an electronics shop on the other side of town. Phew.

As if no one cared about my well-being, my little sister barged into my room, humming a tune to the words,

"Dinner time!~"

Dinner was another uneventful part of my day. I just spent the time eating and pondering on how far Nagato was in the execution of her plan. I hope she finishes soon, before Haruhi finds evidence of our relationship.

After dinner, I took a quick shower, brushed my teeth, and went to bed. Oh boy. I really have to get some sleep. At this rate, I'll be as worn out as my dad in three years.

* * *

Today is Thursday. It has been two days since Nagato told me how she felt. And even with all the complications this has brought upon us: the potential for Haruhi to go berserk, and Asahina-san crying, to name a few, I still felt quite nostalgic about this whole business. More than a year ago, she saved me from Asakura for the first time in my memory in that empty classroom. She admitted that even back then, she had begun to feel for me.

I smiled at the thought. I wonder how she's doing right now. I'm not supposed to contact her today, and I'm supposed to ignore her in the clubroom this afternoon. I climbed the steep hill going to North High in silence, thinking about how I would do just that.

All of a sudden, I remembered Asahina-san's reaction to her finding out about us yesterday. The memory filled my heart up with guilt. No matter. Today, I'll tell her that she still means a lot to me. Perhaps I could let her know that I'll make it up to her soon?

With all this in mind, I felt confident about going through school and the Brigade today.

* * *

After school had ended, I immediately proceeded to the clubroom, with Haruhi by my side, walking in silence. She had been like that all day: deep in thought. When I asked her if something was wrong, she only gave me a look that said, "Mind your own business."

We arrived at the clubroom in due time. Strangely, Haruhi didn't burst into the room as usual, so I took the opportunity to knock on the door to make sure that we wouldn't walk in on Asahina-san changing into her maid costume.

"Come in," a melancholic voice replied.

We opened the door, and I surveyed the clubroom. At the table, I saw Koizumi playing chess with himself once again, the chess tactics book beside him. He looked up at our arrival and greeted us:

"Good afternoon Suzumiya-san, Kyon," he gestured to each of us in quick succession.

Stop creeping me out Koizumi, we aren't at an annual company meeting held by investors.

"Sorry Kyon," he replied sheepishly. "Would you like to play chess with me?"

I decided to try to imitate his pattern of speech, just to irritate him.

"I must respectifully decline, Koizumi-kun," I said.

"As you wish," he said, without any trace of irritation.

I turned to the corner of the room and saw Nagato sitting by the window, reading a different novel from the one she was reading yesterday. I decided that at the very least, I should know what Nagato was reading. I focused on the book, and saw the title. _Breaking Dawn_. Strangely, the title fit our situation perfectly. It seemed that when Nagato confessed to me, or rather, informed me of her feelings, it was like I still had my whole life ahead of me with her. It was like us entering a whole new day at daybreak, ready to face anything that Fate decided to pit against us.

With the plan in mind, Nagato didn't even bother to look up at our entrance.

And then my eyes fell on the last person in the room. "Asahina-san, I'm sorry," was what I tried to convey to her with my facial expressions, but to no avail. She merely looked at Haruhi and said,

"S-Suzumiya-s-san. Would you like some tea?"

She then turned to face me. Her face flushed, and she immediately turned away from me. Damn, I gotta fix this somehow, or I'll never forgive myself. I wonder if I'll have the opportunity to at least apologize.. It had better be within the next two days, or else my friendship with her might permanently be ruined.

But then I remembered that the older Asahina-san and I were on perfectly good terms with each other. That means that somehow, somewhere along the way, the two of us made up. The thought gave me hope, and I smiled.

"What's so funny Kyon?" said Haruhi.

"Oh, so you've finally decided to speak?" I scornfully said. "Never mind, it's nothing."

Strangely, Haruhi just bought my crappy excuse for smiling. These melancholic stages of her mood swings can really cause her to go out of character, if you would excuse my terminology. If you ask me, she probably wouldn't last as a fan fiction character with all her out of character moments.

Haruhi then went to the computer, and started to play a game of Minesweeper. That's weird. Most bored people play Minesweeper. Since Haruhi is not most bored people, she does NOT play Minesweeper. With a feeling of impending doom, I got the feeling that, even though she said we'd be taking a break from club activities, she was planning something for today. She's just the type to manipulate things to suit her needs. After all, she even has the powers to do that to begin with.

Asahina-san began to serve her heavenly tea, but she didn't look at me when she placed my teacup on the table. Damn, I have to do this today or I might go mad! I need an opportunity, please! If any deity out there can hear me, give me the chance to apologize!

And then in a flash, a deity did seem to hear me.

"We've got something special for today! Let's have a spaghetti eating contest!" said Haruhi.

What the hell? A spaghetti eating contest? That's lame, even for you Haruhi.

"Shut up Kyon. This is a special eating contest, unlike any other. The participants will pair up, and eat out of a plate of spaghetti. The pair who almost kisses because they were chewing on the same strand of spaghetti the most times wins a special prize, straight from the Brigade Chief!" she declared.

Oh crap. Now drop the other heel Haruhi.

"So, here are the pairings. Koizumi-kun, you're paired with Mikuru-chan. Kyon, you go with Yuki," said Haruhi.

Oh crap indeed. Does she know what exactly is going on here?

"Hey Haruhi, what about you? Aren't you joining?" I pointedly said.

"Of course not! I'm the judge for this contest!"

And right on cue, I just had to check her armband. It now read "Super Special Awesome Spaghetti Eating Contest Judge."

Yare yare. How ridiculous. But, I guess that's Haruhi Suzumiya for you.

"Okay, someone will have to get the spaghetti from the cafeteria," said Haruhi. "Kyon, you—Nah. Uhm, Koizumi-kun, please get two plates of spaghetti from the cafeteria for our contest."

"At once, Suzumiya-san. But it would make things easier for us if you came along with me and carried the other plate," said Koizumi.

He then looked in my direction and winked at me. Ugh! Stop freaking me out Koizumi!

Strangely, Haruhi agreed as well. After all this time, Koizumi's ass-kissing must have paid off.

"Sure Koizumi-kun. To the cafeteria!" she shouted.

And just like that, they burst out of the clubroom, leaving me alone with Nagato and Asahina-san. I could feel the tension between me and Asahina-san in the air; it was so tangible that I felt as though I could reach out and touch it with my bare hands.

Somehow, I needed to catch her flatfooted so she would accept my apology. Something I had never done before ought to catch her attention. Instantly, I knew how to start my apology to her.

"M-Mikuru-chan," I said.

She gasped. I had never, ever called her by her first name before. Before she could respond, I said,

"May I please speak with you in private, outside?" I asked. "It'll only be for a short while, I promise. Nagato—" I called, unable to resist speaking to her "—we'll only be outside for a few minutes, alright?"

I didn't expect her to reply, but Nagato looked at me and nodded slightly. As for Asahina-san, she said,

"Okay, Kyon-kun."

So Asahina-san and I exited the clubroom, and I led her to a deserted classroom on the other side of the building.

"What is it Kyon-kun? Has Suzumiya-san done anything yet?" she asked.

"No, Asahina-san, it isn't anything like that. I just wanted t-to apologize to you," I stammered.

"For what?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.

"For springing this onto you all at once. But please do not worry about anything. I'm sorry because I love Nagato, but don't forget that you'll always be a special person to me as well. I will never ever forget you, Asahina-san, until the day I die," I solemnly declared.

I waited with bated breath for her reply, while she just stood there, looking like a doll.

"O-okay. I hope that doesn't happen anytime soon, Kyon-kun. Who knows what Suzumiya-san might do? I also wouldn't like it if you died," she replied. Then, she smiled, walked up to me, and hugged me.

"I'm sorry Asahina-san, but I'll make it up to you someday, I promise," I said while hugging her back.

"I know you will Kyon-kun," she whispered. She began to tear up, and my uniform's sleeve began to feel damp from her tears.

Who cares? As long as Asahina-san and I were on good speaking terms, my uniform's moisture content didn't matter in the slightest. The best part is, lustful thoughts involving her never crossed my mind anymore. That helped me settle into this whole thing with Nagato as well.

"I just want you to be happy," she added.

"Thank you, Mikuru-chan. Soon, I'll make it up to you. We could go out, if Nagato allows it."

"I'd like that," she whispered.

We stood there for a few minutes, then once we had composed ourselves, we then exited the classroom and proceeded back to the clubroom, chatting all the while about trivial things, such as the weather, what the good movies are lately, and what brand of tea she would brew next.

Thank goodness that's over. Now I just have to deal with Haruhi's silly eating contest, then I could call it a day.

* * *

_A/N: I hope I properly wrote the part where Kyon apologized to Mikuru (hoping that they stayed in character)._

_Criticism is definitely welcome, and thank you in advance. :P_


	10. Chapter 9

_A/N: I decided to retcon a scene I portrayed in this chapter. I'm going to save it up for the climax. Peace guys. __^_____^_

**Chapter 9**

When we arrived at the clubroom, Haruhi and Koizumi were still gone and only Nagato was there, sitting by the window, reading her novel. She looked up as we entered, and gave me a short nod. Beside me, Asahina-san tensed when she saw Nagato's reaction.

"I-I hope that Nagato-san isn't mad that we went somewhere private," she whispered.

"Don't worry, she's not the jealous type, believe me," I chuckled.

With that, Asahina-san and I decided to play a game of _Othello_ while waiting for Haruhi and Koizumi to return. Koizumi tried to teach the two of us to play chess, but neither of us really caught on and eventually, Koizumi just gave up, and resorted to playing out chess tactics by himself. He can get that weird sometimes. No, screw that, he's always weird, the way he smiles, the way he follows Haruhi's commands like a trained lapdog, or the way he doesn't respect my personal space.

Sure, he tried to explain _why_ to me once, but the explanation he gave was either very crappy or very true to the point that it could happen. I remember that he had said,

"Kyon-kun, I am doing this because I believe that Suzumiya-san wants me to act this way. If I didn't do all these things, she might alter reality to make me a true homosexual. And honestly, I don't want that," he chuckled. "You're lucky Kyon," he said.

"Why am I lucky?" I had said.

"Because you and Suzumiya-san have that invisible bond of mutual trust. What I'd give to have that with Suzumiya-san…," he had said.

That was when Koizumi basically admitted to me that he liked Haruhi. Ah, whatever, you can have her. Besides, I have Nagato now. I smiled at the thought.

Asahina-san saw me smile and she smiled back at me. Damn, what was taking Haruhi and Koizumi so long? I want to get this stupid contest over and done with. Obviously, the plan would be for Nagato and me to lose, so as not to alert Haruhi's suspicions about us. Having successfully gotten back in Asahina-san's good books, all that I would have to do now is to wait for Nagato to complete her plan of action.

And when _that_ was done.. Nagato is going to really get it from me. There was so much I could do, that I wanted to do with her, that human purpose organic interface whom I had fallen in love with. Perhaps she would want to see a movie with me. I remembered _Transformers_ had had a replay in our theaters recently. Maybe I'll take her out to watch that movie. Besides, she could perfectly sympathize with the Autobot faction's mission: to help others. She went out of her way to save me from Asakura on that fateful day. She could have just let me meet my death, and then no doubt Haruhi would act.

I remembered what she told me two days ago. No contest. Nagato wouldn't let me die because she loved me. Once again, I smiled at the thought. Asahina-san noticed and whispered to me,

"Are you thinking about Nagato-san right now?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah," I sheepishly said.

"As long as you're happy, Kyon-kun~," she hummed.

Without warning, Nagato closed her book and stood up. At the sound of the book closing, Asahina-san and I both jumped.

"What is it Nagato?" I asked, tense.

"Mikuru Asahina, please leave Kyon and I in private for a moment. There is something that I have to inform him of," said Nagato.

"It's okay Nagato, Mikuru-chan knows that we have this thing under control. We _do_ have this thing under control, right?"

"As you wish. Yes, we have everything under control. It is finished. The reprogramming of Haruhi Suzumiya's perception was a complete success," said Nagato.

With that, both of our jaws dropped. Asahina-san just stood there stunned, and said,

"N-Nagato-san. What power…," she stammered in awe.

"I copied a portion of her power into my database. Rest assured that it will only be used for this instance, and in the event of an emergency," said Nagato.

Asahina-san and I just nodded at her words. Suddenly, it, all of it, hit me: I was free to be with Nagato! We didn't need to go into hiding anymore. Finally, I can enjoy myself with her, without having to fear for any repercussions.

I couldn't stand it anymore. Blatantly ignoring the fact that Asahina-san was in the room, I walked over to where Nagato stood, facing the floor, and I tugged her sleeve very gently. She looked up at me with inquisitive eyes.

"Nagato.. Thank you for everything.. I-I love you," I said, and then I leaned towards her face, ready to kiss her.

In the background, Asahina-san gasped, and she immediately ran for the door so that she could lock it. I heard a metallic click that seemed to come from far, far away.

And then, for the second time in two days, our lips came into contact. I caressed the back of her neck, while she wrapped her arms around my chest, which was heaving very heavily at the moment. This is what heaven must be like.. Nothing but bliss.

After what seemed like an hour, we broke apart. I was furiously blushing, and, to my surprise, so was Nagato. She was as red as a tomato! I didn't expect that at all. I wonder what happened.

"Hey Nagato, how come you're so red?" I teased.

"It seems that the more we engage in kissing, my emotions for you become more pronounced," she replied.

Then we both heard a tiny little cough that seemed to come from the door. I almost jumped, but Nagato just turned to the door.

Both of our eyes fell on Asahina-san standing there, looking quite shocked. Who wouldn't be shocked when the silent bookworm you've been spending every single day with, ignoring everything around her, suddenly kisses a guy on the lips with so much passion in front of you?

"Uhm, sorry about that Asahina-san," I said. "I couldn't help it."

I then shrugged my shoulders and remembered what I promised Asahina-san.

"Hey Nagato, I want to go out with Asahina-san sometime, if that's alright with you," I said.

"… Okay," she said. "When that time comes, Mikuru Asahina, please take care of Kyon for me."

"O-of c-course, Nagato-san," Asahina-san replied.

I flashed Asahina-san a thumbs-up, and we just smiled at each other.

"I guess we get to go out sometime after all," I said.

Suddenly, we heard banging on the door, followed by shouts.

"HEY GUYS, OPEN UP OR ELSE THERE'S GONNA BE A PENALTY FOR THE THREE OF YOU!" Haruhi screamed.

"Suzumiya-san, please lower your voice," said Koizumi. "You're going to make my eardrums burst."

Wow, Koizumi actually told Haruhi off? What are the odds of that ever happening?

"Sorry about that, Koizumi-kun," said Haruhi. "Open up guys! We got the plates of spaghetti right here!"

I moved to the door and unlocked it. In burst Haruhi and Koizumi, with two plates of freshly cooked spaghetti. How Haruhi was able to snag newly cooked spaghetti from a high school cafeteria, I do not know. It must have involved some sort of bribery or threats.

I then realized that I would be kissing Nagato at least three times in the past two days. Since she had successfully altered Haruhi's perception, there was no need for me to hold back on Nagato anymore.

While Haruhi and I set the plates up, I looked at Koizumi and Asahina-san from the corner of my eye. It seems that Asahina-san was acquainting Koizumi with the whole situation, because when Koizumi noticed me eyeing them, he just flashed me a thumbs-up. Congratulations Koizumi, Haruhi is all yours, since I got Nagato now.

When the table was fully set, Haruhi then said,

"Okay everybody, let the contest begin. Koizumi-kun, Mikuru-chan, sit over here. Kyon, Yuki, you sit over there," she said while giving directions. "The winner gets two tickets to the _Transformers_ reruns they've been showing lately. I managed to swipe some the other day for a really low price," she smugly said.

She then brought out two tickets from her pocket, and placed them on top of her computer. She then got a notepad and pen, and placed those things on top of the tickets.

Yare yare. No doubt swiping those tickets must have involved some sort of threat from Haruhi.

"Here are the tickets. I want you guys to see them because I want you guys to feel motivated about this whole contest. If you guys end up kissing, then go ahead! Don't be ashamed of it. Maybe something could start from there?" she said mischievously.

Too late Haruhi. Nagato and I started days ago. As for Koizumi and Asahina-san, don't count on anything happening there. Since Koizumi likes you and all.

"What a nice joke Kyon," she said. "Although I don't think it'd be that bad if Koizumi-kun were to like me…"

I looked over at Koizumi, who was sitting at the table across Asahina-san, and he certainly looked happy. I thought that, if I did him a favor by suggesting him to Haruhi, he'd ease up on the acting-like-a-homosexual part of his façade. He returned the look with what seemed to be a very genuine smile.

I took my place at the table across Nagato. We looked at each other and simultaneously smiled. It felt so exhilarating! No more secrecy! No more hiding. It took all of my restraint not to repeat the kissing scene that happened in front of Asahina-san right now. Thankfully, I remembered that to win Haruhi's half-assed spaghetti eating contest, Nagato and I would have to chew on the same strand of spaghetti the most number of times, eating the strand until our mouths would, or would almost meet.

"Is everybody ready guys? Alright! Let the contest begin!" said Haruhi.

* * *

As I walked Nagato home to her apartment that evening, I told her that we had plans for the weekend. I pulled two tickets to _Transformers_ from my pocket, and I couldn't help but smile.

My head seemed to be in the clouds today. The happiness that I felt at what seemed to be the end of hiding our relationship from Haruhi simply took over my very being. Which is why I didn't notice that we were already standing outside Nagato's apartment room. I only realized this when she slightly nudged the arm she was clinging onto and said,

"We have arrived Kyon."

I shook myself out of my reverie. Good thing Nagato was holding onto my arm, or else who knows where I may have wandered off to.

"Okay Nagato. I guess this is good night. I'll see you tomorrow," I said. "Take care, and be safe."

The irony. Between the two of us, it is I, and not her, who needs more protection.

"…"

"Good night.. Kyon," she replied.

"Well, I guess I better be going," I said.

"Good bye," she said.

With that, she entered the room. I left her apartment complex, excited for the weekend. Just one more uneventful day of school, then Nagato and I could go out on a date. Then perhaps the library after the movie…

* * *

Far, far away, a large horde of human purpose organic interfaces were assembled in what seemed to be a huge warehouse.

"In one hour, we leave for Earth," shouted Asakura Ryouko. "Estimated time of arrival: eleven hours. Nagato-san shall feel my wrath!"

"AHOOM! AHOOM!" shouted the interfaces.

* * *

_A/N: I really hope that Kyon, Mikuru, and Nagato stayed in character in this chapter, even with all the fluffy stuff going on. Comments are welcome. ^____^_


	11. Chapter 10

_A/N: So I keep forgetting that I have to put disclaimers here. Ah well, here goes:_

_I do not own _Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu_. Only Nagaru Tanigawa and Kyon own Haruhi. Lol. :P_

**Chapter 10**

"Kyon-kun! Kyon-kun!"

Wha~? Who the hell dares to disturb my really cool dream right now? Nagato was in it for f— Oh it's my sister.

"Shia-chan?" I blearily said.

"Eh? Who's that Kyon-kun? Anyway, it's breakfast time lalala~," hummed my sister.

Whoops. Apparently, I was still half asleep since I was calling my sister random names.

"What's for breakfast?" I asked.

"Oh, we're having pancakes today."

Mmm. Pancakes. I already imagined the pancakes, slathered in maple syrup and topped off with a small slice of butter. Nothing like a decent American breakfast to start an uneventful day. At least, I hope it's uneventful. Too much has happened lately. I needed some rest. Good thing Haruhi didn't plan anything for this week, or I'd really be run dry.

I unsteadily got to my feet, and walked to the door. I rubbed my bleary eyes, and sniffed the air. Mm. I can already smell the pancakes.

"Hey, save some for me!" I called.

* * *

As I undertook the daily trip up the steep hill going to North High, I thought about my plans for tomorrow with Nagato. First, I'll take her out to lunch. Gotta be somewhere where she'll be satiated. Since I've seen that humungous appetite of hers over the past year. Buffet will do just fine. Then after that, we'll catch the 2 pm screening of _Transformers_. Then a walk around town then we'll just kill time at the library.

I wrung my hands like a mad scientist. The perfect date. Most unlike that date in one anime that I watched recently. That date was a total disaster, as the guy's friends had planned the date out in advance, and his date caught him referring to a map with instructions. _Confess at the top of the Ferris Wheel_. Please. How cliché. I sure wouldn't want to make the same mistake that guy did.

Besides, I'm sure Nagato will be easy to please. I wouldn't be surprised if she'd be fine with a picnic under a tree in the park in the afternoon. After all, I was with her, and I guess she did want that at the very least.

My thoughts were interrupted by a rough slap to my back.

"Ouch! Taniguchi! What the hell was that for?" I exclaimed.

"Heh. Sorry Kyon. Are the rumors true?" he asked.

Oh no.

"Which rumors?"

"The ones that say that you've hooked up with Nagato-san."

Crap. Nagato was _that_ popular? I hope I don't get chased by envious men from around campus, much like that guy who blew his date in that particular anime. Well, I'm different from him. He had groupies dedicated to three girls who liked him going for his skin. As for me, I'm sure Nagato's fanboys aren't that many. And envious. And violent.

I sighed.

"And so what if they're true?" I answered.

"Well Kyon, I thought it'd be you and Suzumiya for sure. So something _did_ happen that time, right?" asked Taniguchi slyly.

"What are you talking about?"

"That time when I caught you and Nagato in our classroom, all alone."

Oh, not that again.

"Like I already told you, idiot, Nagato suddenly felt weak due to her anemic condition. She stumbled, and before she hit the floor, I caught her. Got it?" I snapped.

"Okay, okay Kyon, cool it. Anyway, I won't be seeing you at lunch. I'm going to try my luck with the upperclassmen this time. Maybe that Tsuruya-san might do," he said.

No chance in hell Taniguchi. Tsuruya-san is definitely not in your tier. And by that, I mean that her tier is much higher than yours.

"That's just brutal dude."

"I speak the truth," I said, while laughing,

"Whatever Kyon. Anyway, later!"

Taniguchi then rushed off ahead of me. By this time, we had already crossed the hill, and North High was but a few meters away. Time to let the day slowly slip by, then before I know it, tomorrow's going to be here.

* * *

Morning came and went uneventfully, with Okabe-sensei's words entering my right ear and exiting my left as usual. When the lunch bell rang, my back was suddenly rapped by Haruhi.

"Rin-chan!"

"Ow! What was that for? And what new nickname is that for me?"

"Oh, I was just copying a green haired girl I saw in an anime based on a famous dating sim some time ago," she replied.

Yare yare.. She gets interested in the weirdest of things. I guess I'm so used to her eccentricity that I no longer consider her wanting to meet aliens, espers, time travelers, and sliders to be weird. Not that she knew that three of the four already surrounded her.

I'd been wondering for a while now when that slider would show himself. It also occurred to me not long ago that the slider could be me. I remembered Koizumi creeping me out for the first time because I asked.

"_Do not worry Kyon-kun. You are a completely ordinary human. No special powers whatsoever," said Koizumi._

"_How do you know this?" I asked._

"_I did a background check on you. Sorry," said Koizumi sheepishly._

"_You're freaking me out."_

"Anyway Kyon, you're taking Yuki out to a movie tomorrow right?"

"Yeah."

"Make good use of those tickets you two won. You two actually took me by surprise. I didn't think you and Yuki would end up kissing thirty times," she exclaimed.

I just grinned at Haruhi. Apparently, here was the product of Nagato's reprogramming. She didn't give a damn about the whole business.

"Are you and Yuki going out now?" she asked.

"N-not really. Tomorrow's our first time out alone on non SOS Brigade related business."

"Hey, I got an idea! Let's all have some fun tomorrow. Meet at the train station at ten o'clock in the morning. That's an order. You and Yuki aren't excused just because you guys are on a date."

Jeez, way to go Haruhi. Now you're filling up my schedule. I was supposed to pick Nagato up at 1 pm tomorrow, since I was supposed to sleep in until 11 am. A man needs his rest. But of course, you're the Brigade Chief. Way to go for messing my plans up.

"Stop complaining Kyon. Okay, tomorrow, you're excused from paying for lunch. Since you have to spend money on Yuki, I figure that Koizumi or I could pick up tomorrow's lunch tab. Then pay whoever pays for tomorrow back within a week, or there'll be a penalty for you!"

I sighed. Oh well. At least she wasn't going bonkers about me and Nagato hooking up.

"Anyway, see you Kyon. I'll be roaming around the school for a bit. Don't forget to stop by the clubroom later. Attendance is mandatory, as usual," said Haruhi.

Do whatever you want Haruhi. I couldn't help but grin. I still have Nagato.

* * *

The afternoon class period came and went in a flash. Of course, I slept through most of the afternoon.

This week is honestly one of the most tiring weeks I've ever experienced. This even beats the time that Haruhi made summer repeat itself 15,498 times. I remembered with a pang how Nagato had been aware that those eight weeks of summer repeated themselves that many times. She had literally been running, for more than two millennia straight, in an endless circle of events that Haruhi didn't want to end because of _me._ All because I didn't do my summer homework before the end of the holidays. I have to apologize to Nagato for that soon.

When the final bell rang, I looked behind me and saw that Haruhi was already gone. Apparently, she left without me noticing. I stood up unsteadily, yawned loudly, and saw a note on her desk. It read,

"Today's meeting is going to be a quickie. Be there or else heads will roll. - Haruhi"

Good. At least I can get some well deserved rest after I bring Nagato home to get ready for tomorrow's big date.

I made my way to the clubroom, and knocked gently on the door.

"Come in!" shouted Haruhi.

Strange. I wonder why it wasn't Asahina-san who answered. I entered the room and looked around. There was Haruhi, already getting ready to leave, Nagato, sitting in the corner staring at me, Asahina-san, standing still by the stove, not wearing her maid costume, and Koizumi, who, to my immense surprise, was not smiling at all.

Before I could comprehend all of this, Haruhi said,

"You're late. You'll pay me back for tomorrow's lunch DOUBLE! Don't forget Kyon, tomorrow at ten o'clock."

With that, she left the room. I turned to the other three members.

"Uh. Did something happen?"

"K-Koizumi-kun. You tell Kyon-kun. I'm scared," squealed Asahina-san, who started to cry.

"Kyon-kun. We have a problem. According to Nagato-san over there, she has detected several human purpose organic interfaces making their way for Earth. Estimated time of arrival would be in about an hour," he said seriously.

"What do they want?" I asked.

"Originally, we thought that they wanted to interrogate Suzumiya-san, that's why I requested that she make today's meeting a short one, so she could safely get out of the way. However, that is not the case, and Nagato-san will explain the situation to you."

I turned to Nagato.

"Well? What's going on Nagato? Please make this explanation short, so I can easily understand."

The reply she gave was indeed, a short one. However, I was not amused in the slightest.

"Asakura Ryouko. She is coming. With her comes the entire rogue faction of interfaces affiliated with the Integrated Data Thought Entity. I thought that I had vanquished her in that classroom, but it appears that I am wrong. She comes for revenge."

"SHIT! What are we going to do?" I shouted.

"I have already alerted my colleagues to the situation, and they are coming as we speak," said Koizumi.

Hold on. I thought you espers could only work in closed space? How is that going to help us?

"Ah, but Nagato-san has a plan. Yesterday, Asahina-san filled me in on everything. I must congratulate you and Nagato-san now, while I still can."

He smiled.

"Do you remember that Nagato-san still has some of Suzumiya-san's power?"

"Yes. How is she going to use it?"

"She will make it so that our esper powers will work outside of closed space."

I turned to Nagato.

"Can you really do that?" I asked,

"Of course. It is within my abilities."

I turned to Asahina-san.

"What about you, Asahina-san?" I asked.

"E-eh, uhm.. It is forbidden for us time travelers to carry weapons, so I'm not sure how I can help. But I would like to help very much," she earnestly said.

"Do you remember the movie that we made? Do you remember that Haruhi temporarily made your Mikuru Beam real?" I asked.

Asahina-san nodded. I turned to Nagato.

"Nagato, can you make it so that Asahina-san over here can use her Mikuru Beam against the interfaces?"

Nagato's eyes glinted.

"Done," she said.

"Kyon-kun, how do I control the Mikuru Beam again? I seem to have forgotten how to…"

"Nagato, how will Asahina-san activate the Mikuru Beam?" I asked.

"Do what you did when we filmed the movie. Place your fingers in a V-shape around your eye and say, 'Mikuru Beam,'" replied Nagato.

"O-okay. I hope I can help if I'm needed," said Asahina-san.

"What else do we have to do?" I asked.

"We should relocate to an open area to minimize casualties," said Nagato.

Damn. This town is so urbanized there aren't many fields out there. Thankfully, Koizumi saved the day.

"There's an old abandoned warehouse that my colleagues own on the other side of town. I'll tell them to rendezvous there," said Koizumi.

"What about me? Do I go with you guys, or do I stay at my house" I asked.

"We think it is best if you stayed with us," said Koizumi. "I wouldn't put it past Asakura knowing about you and Nagato-san. If she targets you while we aren't around.."

He shuddered.

"We don't want that to happen. Or else no doubt Suzumiya-san will destroy this world and create a new one."

"Well, that's settled then."

Nagato then stood up, and said,

"We must leave now."

Suddenly, Koizumi's phone rang.

"Yes," replied Koizumi. "Ah. Alright. Understood."

He closed the phone and said,

"Our transportation is waiting outside. Let's go everyone," said Koizumi.

* * *

Forty-five minutes had passed since we left the clubroom. Here we were, at an abandoned warehouse on the other side of town, waiting for Asakura's Rogue Squadron to arrive.

I surveyed my surroundings. I was at the very back of the formation that the espers, Asahina-san, and Nagato had formed. I was not supposed to participate in the battle, since I'd be totally useless fighting human purpose organic interfaces. There were three legions of espers, each commanded by Nagato, Asahina-san, and Koizumi. Though I wasn't too sure if letting Asahina-san lead a group of espers in a battle was such a good idea. Maybe she'll play the role of a sniper with her Mikuru Beam? I silently prayed that she had enough practice a while ago in using the Mikuru Beam.

I made an estimate on the total number of people we had on our side, and my count was more or less 94, including Koizumi, Asahina-san, Nagato, and myself. I hope Asakura didn't bring too many of her friends. I shuddered at the thought of her knife being buried in my body and my almost getting killed by her, not once, but twice.

I looked at my watch. Five minutes till arrival. The formations were already in proper order. All that was left was to await the arrival of our enemies.

It turned out that five more minutes wouldn't suffice.

"Hello, Nagato-san," a girlish voice boomed inside the warehouse.

Asakura.

The top of the warehouse was suddenly blasted open. Floating in the afternoon sky above the warehouse was Asakura Ryouko, flanked by what seemed to be around a hundred rogue human purpose organic interfaces.

"I'm back. And this time, you shall die," said Asakura Ryouko.

* * *

_A/N: I hope that the buildup in this chapter was just right. :P Btw, did anyone notice certain anime references I made? Peace ^___^ R&R please. :D  
_


	12. Chapter 11

_A/N: Zeek72, how could you have possibly guessed that? You sir, are an esper in disguise. :P_

_Usual Disclaimers: I do not own _Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuuutsu._ Only Nagaru Tanigawa and Kyon own Haruhi. :D_

_

* * *

  
_

**Chapter 11**

While Asakura's threats hung in the air, I immediately turned to Nagato, out of fear and concern. There was no way I could lose her now. It would be a very brutal ending to what would be a promising and wonderful relationship.

Nagato, who was standing behind the central legion of espers, was speaking extremely fast. She's probably altering the basic fabric of reality inside this large, derelict warehouse that was swarming with entities that would baffle the average person. She would probably set some countermeasures against Asakura and her rogue squadron of human purpose organic interfaces. From my hiding place, which was a few tall stacks of empty wooden crates, I snuck another glance at our enemies who were still eerily hovering in midair.

I gasped, and did a double-take.

My initial count of Asakura's fighting force pegged their numbers at around one hundred strong. Looking at them again, I was shocked because I only noticed now that _more_ interfaces were joining the initial group. Now my count indicates that their attacking force had more or less doubled in number.

I sighed loudly. Are we really going to die today? Out of fear and anxiety, I decided to approach Nagato, who was but a few meters away from my hiding place. Before I could take another step though, I was surprised to hear Koizumi's audible voice ring through the air, without a trace of cheerfulness. He must be _really_ serious this time, thank goodness.

"Asakura-san. You will not defeat us, even though you have the upper hand in the numbers game!"

The espers all cried out in unison, their morale bolstered by Itsuki Koizumi's declaration.

"Is that so, Koizumi-kun?" asked Asakura.

Suddenly, Nagato was beside me, gripping my arm very gently. My fear, which she obviously sensed, threatened to consume my very being, causing me to collapse onto the floor. Before that could happen, however, Nagato just lightly caressed my face in her hands and said,

"It will be alright.. Kyon. Do not worry about me. Stay here, with—" she started talking extremely fast once again, and gestured to a spot behind the fire exit that was located near my hiding place, "—Emiri Kimidori."

Coming from the fire exit, according to my reckoning, a wavy-haired girl in a blouse and cardigan appeared beside me. Emiri Kimidori.

Emiri Kimidori? Wasn't she the Computer Club President's alleged girlfriend? Wasn't she the one who approached us to inform us of the president's disappearance? I suspected back then that Nagato orchestrated the entire event just to keep Haruhi busy. I also suspected that somehow, Emiri Kimidori and Nagato were in league in each other. It appears that I was correct in this respect.

I also remembered that Kimidori-san is the secretary of Koizumi's puppet the Student Council President. Perhaps Koizumi's Organization and the Intergrated Data Thought Entity had come to some kind of understanding? Perhaps even understanding to the level of cooperation? That might explain how Koizumi was easily able to muster his colleagues. Who knows?

"Kyon, I am here to help protect you while Nagato-san and the others fight Asakura off," said Kimidori-san.

Nagato spoke very quickly once again to Emiri Kimidori, who seemed to have understood the instructions because she said,

"Understood."

She flashed Nagato a thumbs-up. Nagato just nodded and ran back to her spot behind the central division of espers. All of a sudden, Nagato spoke, her voice as emotionless as ever. However, the message relayed seemed to carry a lot a conviction in its statement.

"Asakura Ryouko, I will permanently nullify your data link to reality. I am going to delete you once and for all."

"You can try, Nagato-san. But, in the end, you will die. Interfaces—" she gestured to the horde of interfaces flanking her, "—ATTACK!"

With Asakura's declaration, I instinctively ducked for cover behind my makeshift hiding place. The sounds of the battle reached my ears, the ferocity eerily indicated by bodies flying all over the interior of the warehouse.

Interfaces darting here and there, trying to take the espers out with brute force; the espers responding by transforming into red balls of energy, their psychic powers being put to full use in this epic battle. I began to feel anxiety for Nagato's safety, and feebly tried to brush those thoughts away, while hiding behind these crates. I remembered the last time Nagato and Asakura fought. I remembered how Nagato had terminated Asakura's data link. We both thought that she was finished, but we were wrong. I felt a small measure of relief, because during that time, it was Nagato who was victorious. I hoped for a repeat performance of the incident, with Nagato coming out on top of Asakura. Then my thoughts turned to the espers and their supernatural psychic powers. If Koizumi and his colleagues could topple a Celestial that was not bound by the realms of physics and logic, then these interfaces were bait for their powers as well.

And oh, how could I forget that very deadly Mikuru Beam? Haruhi even made the Mikuru Beam summon a _black hole_ once. Hopefully, Asahina-san's practice session earlier before the battle began would be enough for the battle itself. She seemed competent in shooting objects earlier, more competent than what I would expect from Mikuru Asahina. I strongly suspected that Nagato had a hand in Asahina-san's sudden competence.

I asked permission from Kimidori-san if I could sneak another look at the battlefield. I frantically searched through the chaos for Asahina-san. Ah, there she was! She just finished disposing of five interfaces with a single bolt from her eyes, a feat that could rival even Scott Summers.

I looked over to where Koizumi was and he was flying all over the place, randomly transforming into a red ball, screaming orders at the lesser espers who responded by hurling bowling-ball-sized clumps of psychic energy at the interfaces.

I looked over to where Nagato was, and apparently, the espers under Nagato's command were going head to head with the small group that defended Ryouko Asakura. A fitting duel, for there was definitely bad blood between Nagato and Asakura. Nagato was deflecting potshots from the interfaces, left and right, while Asakura did the same against the balls of psychic energy that the espers hurled at her.

"Don't worry Kyon-kun. Nagato-san is very competent in fighting, and I'm sure that she'll defeat Asakura. Besides, I can help her if I'm sure you aren't in danger," said Kimidori-san.

Her hands began to glow green, and I saw a clump of what appeared to be pure energy appear in her hands. She ducked from behind our hiding place, and took aim at a cluster of six interfaces that were menacing Asahina-san, who was backed into a corner with only three espers left defending her.

Instantly, there was a huge explosion. After the smoke faded, I saw that the six interfaces were all down, and Asahina-san and the espers were unscathed.

"Huh? Good thing Asahina-san wasn't caught in the explosion," I said.

"That was because I telepathically asked the espers to shield themselves from the impending explosion," answered Kimidori-san.

Her full potential and power finally hit me.

"Kimidori-san, please leave me here and assist Nagato in the battle!" I said. "She needs your help more than I do."

"Kyon-kun, Nagato-san specifically ordered me not to leave you under any circumstances. I can't disobey her in this situation."

"B-but.. Why? She needs help!" I fiercely said.

"Kyon, Nagato-san may not show it too often, but she deeply cares for you. She is the first of our kind to experience these so-called 'emotions.' She even gave me a taste of these emotions just one day ago by authorizing my partial synchronization with her data. These emotions are wonderful and pure, so powerful that if Nagato-san was pushed beyond the breaking point, who knows what could happen? That is why she tasked me to defend you," said Kimidori-san.

Looking sullen, I relented. I guess Nagato knows best.

I snuck another look at the battlefield. Both sides had already suffered casualties. I saw Koizumi's face was bleeding, but he was still shouting orders to the remaining espers. Asahina-san looked relatively unscathed, but was left without any espers to support her against the tide of ten interfaces coming up against her.

In that respect, my fears were needless. In one sweeping motion, I heard her cry,

"Mi-Mi-Mikuru Beam!!"

Her eyes swept across the interfaces, and there was another explosion. When the smoke cleared, all ten of the interfaces were down. She gracefully leapt into the air and landed a few meters back, then she ran off to support Nagato, who was fighting the remnants of Asakura's defense force by herself.

Those two are going to clean house.

However, I noticed something that seemed to be out of the ordinary. Ryouko Asakura was nowhere to be found. I hoped that she would retreat and save us all the trouble of this battle.

Suddenly, I heard a cry that came from my side. It was Kimidori-san who shouted.

"Kyon-kun, look out!" screamed Emiri Kimidori.

She pointed upwards, in front of me. When I looked, I saw three daggers flying at us. I instinctively cringed in fear, but before I could to anything, Kimidori-san jumped in front of me and parried two of the three daggers. But the last dagger found its mark, and Kimidori-san was thrown backwards against the wall, a dagger embedded in her chest.

"Gah!" exclaimed Kimidori-san.

"Kimidori-san! Are you alright!?" I shouted.

"I'm fine, I'm healing myself right now," she answered.

She pulled the dagger from her chest, and all of a sudden, her wounds closed up and healed. She pointed at the source of the daggers, and said,

"There's Asakura."

I looked to where she pointed and indeed, Ryouko Asakura was eerily hovering in the air, with that wide smile on her face.

"You still don't want to die, Kyon-kun? Now you have to di—"

Out of nowhere, a body rammed into Asakura, and she flew into the warehouse wall, which was dented severely by the impact. I looked for my savior, and saw Nagato, who seemed to have done away with her normally emotionless look, and replaced it with a look that could positively kill.

"No," said Nagato.

Asakura had recovered from the impact and said,

"I am still more powerful than you Nagato-san. After you had defeated me last time, I found a program that seemed to protect me from any alterations that you might make. So this time, you can't nullify my data link."

She smiled.

"You can't beat me Nagato-san. Besides, are your friends as powerful as you?" asked Asakura.

With that declaration, I glanced over at the battlefield once again. I saw that Koizumi was lying on the floor, under a pile of interfaces that seemed to be equally knocked out. Oh shit, Koizumi was knocked out.

I looked frantically for Asahina-san and I saw her valiantly fight ten interfaces by herself.

I saw her use the Mikuru Beam once again, and she swept it across the approaching interfaces. I expected a result like the last time, but, to my surprise, one interface was left standing. This interface tackled Asahina-san head-on, and Asahina-san was able to fire a last ditch Mikuru Beam against the interface.

The interface's head exploded, and I saw Asahina-san sitting on the ground, covered in gore, while clutching her arm. She appeared to be very wounded at this point.

I realized that all the espers were down. And there were still around twenty interfaces left. My optimism seems to have failed on me.

I sighed and turned back to Asakura and Nagato, who were dueling in mid-air. I realized that, the last people standing were myself, Nagato, and Kimidori-san.

Suddenly, Asakura found a way through Nagato's defenses, and gave her a powerful punch, which sent Nagato flying towards Kimidori-san and myself. Kimidori-san grabbed me and we dodged to the right to avoid Nagato.

"See Nagato-san. You are defeated. You are the only one left standing."

"Emiri Kimidori is still here," answered Nagato from the wreckage of the crates.

"Really?" said Asakura. She smiled, and said, "The dagger that pierced Kimidori-san's body earlier was laced with a program that I myself created. Commencing system shutdown."

Emiri Kimidori screamed.

"Noooooooooooooooo!"

A moment earlier, she was still holding my wrist. The next thing I knew, she was slumped on the floor.

Shit. It was just me and Nagato against Asakura and twenty interfaces. Asahina-san appears to be taking cover behind the wreckage caused by Nagato, and she was too wounded to help us. Koizumi and Kimidori-san were both down for the count.

God help us.

"Finally, Nagato-san, I will get my revenge on you," said Asakura. "Interfaces. Disable Nagato-san now."

The twenty interfaces all flew at Nagato, who had just recovered from the punch that Asakura had landed on her.

She was pinned to the floor, while I could only helplessly watch.

"No!" I screamed.

"Hello Kyon-kun. This time, you will finally die," said Asakura sweetly.

"N-no," said Nagato. "N-not… Kyon."

I could only look at Asakura while she flew at me. Suddenly, it happened. What people said would happen as you were going to die. My whole life was flashing before my very eyes. Memories of the past. I saw myself meet Haruhi for the first time, I saw myself help Haruhi vandalize the East Junior High school grounds. I saw Haruhi drag Asahina-san into the clubroom, and I saw myself meet Nagato for the first time in my memory, that silent bespectacled Literature Club member who allowed us to use her room for the SOS Brigade.

Then Asakura's hand met my abdomen, and I felt a sharp piercing pain somewhere around my midriff. Damn it, not again. I looked down at the dagger that pierced my body, and said,

"Ouch.."

Asakura smiled smugly, and I looked over at Nagato for what might be the last time. Her face.. It was no longer devoid of emotion. The look of anger that had taken over her earlier was replaced with a look that frightened me, even while I was already on my way to my grave.

Nagato looked _scared._ Suddenly, she screamed.

"KYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!! NOOOOOOO!!"

"No! Kyon-kun!" shouted Asahina-san.

"N-Nagato," I coughed.

Blood streamed down my lips, and I knew that I would be smiling, even in death.

"I l-l-love y-you."

"NO! KYON!"

"Run away from here," I managed to cough out. "Leave me and save Asahina-san and yourself."

"KYON!" Nagato screamed.

Then, I heard it.

"I love you Kyon. I'm so sorry."

Suddenly, the world became black, and I knew that no measure of light and sound would pierce me ever again.

* * *

_A/N: This still isn't the end of my story, don't worry._


	13. Chapter 12

_Usual Disclaimers: Only Nagaru Tanigawa and Kyon own Haruhi._

_

* * *

  
_

**Chapter 12**

Not once in my brief lifespan have I ever felt as helpless as I do right now. While these twenty interfaces pin me down, I feel as helpless as ever. I could not muster enough physical strength to throw them off. Ryouko Asakura has also successfully blocked all my attempts to force a program into this space. It was expected, since the espers under our command had no data manipulation abilities whatsoever. No doubt Ryouko Asakura had pooled all the powers of her underlings in preventing my intrusion into this dataspace by successfully trapping this space in her data jurisdiction.

I could only watch Ryouko Asakura drive that steel dagger into Kyon's body. No! Not Kyon!

""KYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!!! NOOOOOOO!!" I screamed.

I have lost all measure of control. Kyon is being deleted in front of me, and I could not do anything to prevent Ryouko Asakura from doing such. I saw Kyon cough up profuse amounts of human blood, and faintly speak.

"N-Nagato… I l-l-love y-you," he feebly muttered. "Run away from here. Leave me and save Asahina-san and yourself."

Even in death, he was so selfless and valiant. That made this loss all the more painful for me.

"NO! KYON!" I shouted once again, as though to save him from his imminent demise.

However, that is the one thing my data manipulation abilities cannot do: bring back the dead. The best I could do for Kyon would be to avenge his death and…

Apologize.

"I love you Kyon. I'm so sorry."

I saw him smile at me, for what was probably the last time, with blood streaming down his lips and neck. Ryouko Asakura was standing beside Kyon's body, smiling smugly.

"Finally, I have avenged my defeat to you, Nagato-san. Now, it's time for you to be deleted," said Ryouko Asakura. "But, I want everyone to be witness to the fact that I alone will defeat and delete you. These interfaces —" she gestured to them, "—will be frozen in time while we have our final duel, Nagato-san."

She smiled.

"I think I'm going to make the last moments of your brief life very, very painful for you."

I could only grit my teeth while the interfaces released me from their vicelike grips. All that mattered was Ryouko Asakura's deletion. Even if the remaining interfaces delete me, as long as I delete Ryouko Asakura first, that was all that really mattered. Kyon is dead, and my life has been reduced to have only one purpose: to avenge the death of Kyon.

I will just transmit a message to the Integrated Data Thought Entity to send a new interface to observe Haruhi Suzumiya. By then, if all goes well, the rogue faction affiliated with the Integrated Data Thought Entity will have been deleted, as all of them came to this battle.

Suddenly, I remembered that Haruhi Suzumiya had also chosen Kyon. The moment she finds out that he is dead, no doubt a data explosion of colossal proportions would occur, and reality would be rewritten to fit her desires. I vaguely thought about the Integrated Data Thought Entity reacting to this, and realized that I did not care, since the last thing I had to do before I was deleted was to avenge the death of Kyon by deleting Ryouko Asakura.

I was still recovering from the recent blow that Ryouko Asakura had dealt to me when she suddenly flew towards me, right hand extended, wielding the dagger that pierced Kyon's body. I was too slow to react, and the dagger found its mark in my chest. The sheer alacrity of Ryouko Asakura's attack caused me to fly towards the warehouse wall, leaving a large dent in it. Without missing a beat, she suddenly began to manipulate data in this space. The crates that I had crashed into earlier transformed into a multitude of daggers that suddenly flew towards me. Still numbed from the death of Kyon, my reaction was once again far too slow, and I was unable to shield myself from the incoming torrent of flying daggers.

The daggers struck me everywhere: my face, chest, arms, and legs. The pain was of no consequence, compared to the burning feeling inside me that any data manipulation could not dispel.

"Kyon," I moaned.

Ryouko Asakura heard me and said,

"Too bad Nagato-san. That is my revenge. Taking away whom you hold dearest. I also did some investigation on these so-called 'emotions,' and I discovered how powerful the effect of losing a loved one was on anybody, even someone as powerful as you, Nagato-san. But now, I am more powerful than you. You can't break through the program that I acquired."

While I was impaled to the wall, I looked over at my fallen friends. Kyon's corpse was bleeding profusely, and I felt a faint pang of pain upon looking at his broken body, that I had sworn to protect from harm. Itsuki Koizumi was unconscious under a pile of deleted interfaces. Mikuru Asahina was slumped on the floor, having passed out due to blood loss and experiencing the death of Kyon. Emiri Kimidori was shut down by Ryouko Asakura's program, and was lying limply on the floor.

I knew that Ryouko Asakura wanted to torture me some more by not shutting me down with the same program that affected Emiri Kimidori. I now knew that my efforts to delete Ryouko Asakura were all in vain. Her programming was immune to any attempts at intrusion that I could muster. She had indeed become more powerful than the last time we had encountered each other.

I thought about the portion of Haruhi Suzumiya's power that I had stolen to keep me and Kyon safe. Its power was already spent, having given the espers the ability to utilize their powers outside of closed space, and having bestowed onto Mikuru Asahina the Mikuru Beam, as well as improving her latent combat skills.

"You lose, Nagato-san. Now, you die," said Ryouko Asakura. "Commencing nullification of data link."

I tried to fight her with programs of my own. However, she had grown more powerful than the last time, so I could only delay her program's execution, not halt it.

I was about to be deleted. I have failed my last mission, my mission to avenge Kyon's death. Kyon… I loved him, but I could not protect him this time. Loving him was all that I could do.

Then, I remembered it.

My conversation with Itsuki Koizumi last night.

"_Nagato-san, are you absolutely sure that Suzumiya-san will not react negatively to you and Kyon?" he asked._

"_Affirmative," I replied._

"_I am under the impression that you reprogrammed Suzumiya-san's perception of your relationship with Kyon. Is that correct?"_

"_Yes."_

"_And how exactly did you do that, Nagato-san?" asked Itsuki Koizumi._

"_I was able to acquire a portion of Haruhi Suzumiya's power, similar to that other time when I lost control of these_—_" I gestured to myself, "_— _emotions."_

_Itsuki Koizumi tried to interrupt me, but I surprised him by cutting him off._

"_Do not worry, I gave Kyon my word that I would not reconstruct the world."_

"_And how exactly does that convince me that you won't repeat what you did?" asked Itsuki Koizumi with a skeptical look on his face._

_I said simply,_

"_Because I would hurt Kyon if I did that. Since I love him, I cannot hurt him." _

"_Well, that's settled,_" _he said cheerfully. "However, I want you to remember something that could possibly help you when peril comes. Do you remember the night when both Suzumiya-san and Kyon disappeared?"_

"_Yes. They disappeared for two-and-a-half hours," I replied._

"_Do you know exactly why that happened?"_

"_It was because Haruhi Suzumiya orchestrated another data explosion," I replied._

"_You're only partly right, Nagato-san. But, do you know _why_ she caused that data explosion?"_

"_No."_

"_It is because Suzumiya-san became jealous of Mikuru Asahina-san, whom she caught wrestling with Kyon for control of the computer's mouse. Suzumiya-san still holds feelings for Kyon-kun, but due to your reprogramming, she simply does not view you as a threat. Emotions can amplify her abilities to create closed space, or, as you call it, Nagato-san, cause data explosions."_

"_Is that so?" I asked._

"_Yes, Nagato-san."_

"_Understood then, Itsuki Koizumi. Thank you for the information. It should assist me in my data gathering," I replied._

"_You're welcome, Nagato-san. It seems that it is in the best interest of our superiors to cooperate with each other, at least for the time being. But my loyalty ultimately lies with the SOS Brigade," said Itsuki Koizumi._

"_As does mine," I replied. "Especially with Kyon."_

_Itsuki Koizumi just smiled._

Now, I knew exactly what I had to do. I had to unleash the pent up emotions inside of me, in the hopes that it would awaken the empty shell that remained of Haruhi Suzumiya's power inside of me.

I could feel Asakura's program deleting my body, bit by bit. I had to act quickly, or all would be lost.

"KYON! I LOVE YOU!"I shouted as loud as I could, putting all the emotion I ever felt for him into that one statement.

"Nagato-san, Kyon-kun is dead, and you know that no data manipulation that we can both do could possibly change that," said Ryouko Asakura.

I felt something inside of me bloom, like cherry blossoms in springtime. At that moment, I knew that I had succeeded. I embraced Haruhi Suzumiya's power inside of me, and broke through Ryouko Asakura's program like Teflon coated bullets going through a Kevlar jacket. I could feel the rest of my body reverting back to its normal state.

"What the—?" exclaimed Ryouko Asakura. "This is not possible! How could you have possibly broken through the program!?"

"You did not know that I wielded a portion of Haruhi Suzumiya's power. A power that you cannot possibly obtain because I have already guarded it against your intrusion."

I pulled the daggers out of my body and threw them at Ryouko Asakura. She was still too surprised at what just happened, so she just floated in midair, frozen in shock.

The daggers struck her body where they had struck my body. She gritted her teeth in pain and said,

"You'll have to do better than that Nagato-san. Mere daggers cannot hurt me."

She waved her hand and the daggers suddenly vanished.

"That was Haruhi Suzumiya's power? How weak! I think the Integrated Data Thought Entity put too much faith in her. If that's all that her powers can do, then they're not even worth the effort."

I just gave her a faint smile and said,

"You are too arrogant, Ryouko Asakura. Those daggers that I threw back at you, I laced with multiple copies of the program that executes data link nullification."

"You lose, Ryouko Asakura," I said. "Completing data link nullification."

She just floated in the air, paralyzed by shock. Suddenly, her shoulders sagged. She knew that she was defeated.

"What power.. Suzumiya-san.."

Those were her last words as she disintegrated in front of my eyes.

Ryouko Asakura has been deleted, Kyon's death avenged. A few sudden motions from the side caught my attention, and I saw the twenty interfaces flying straight at me, intending to delete me.

With Ryouko Asakura's demise, her data jurisdiction inside this warehouse also disappeared. I immediately claimed the space for my own, and forced a program into the space beside me to generate a force field laced with data link nullification programs.

All twenty interfaces collided with the force field, disintegrating into nothingness as they did so.

I then set myself upon the ground, looking for my fallen friends. Since Kyon was already dead, I could not do anything about that..

While I approached Mikuru Asahina and healed her wounds, I suddenly felt some moisture trickling down my face. Startled, I put a hand to my face to wipe away the substance that was streaming down my face from my eyes.

Tears.

I went over to Itsuki Koizumi and deleted all of the interfaces that lay on top of him. I healed him as well, then went over to Emiri Kimidori to complete the deactivation of Ryouko Asakura's system termination program.

After a short while, everyone was back on their feet, with extremely minor injuries.

All except one, that is.

"N-Nagato-san, is Kyon-kun… Really.. Gone?" asked Mikuru Asahina with tears streaming down her face, just like me.

I just nodded, and more tears hit the floor where I stood. Itsuki Koizumi stood beside me, his normally cheerful face gone. Emiri Kimidori also showed equal sadness.

"It was a shame that Kyon had to die," said Itsuki Koizumi. "We will sorely miss him."

"There remains the problem of Haruhi Suzumiya," I said. "When she finds out about this, there will be a 98 percent chance that she will rewrite reality."

"Nagato-san, can't you resurrect Kyon-kun?" asked Mikuru Asahina.

"That is the one thing we interfaces cannot to," answered Emiri Kimidori. "We cannot give life, even to someone who has recently lost it."

I could not take it anymore. Ignoring everything around me, I just said over and over,

"Kyon, I love you, I'm so sorry."

Then I remembered a song that I had composed during the time that Haruhi Suzumiya tasked us to come up with short stories for the Literature Club's magazine. The song complimented the short story I had given to her, a story that no one but I could have possibly understood.

I began to sing this song in the hopes of easing my melancholy:

_Oto mo nai sekai ni  
Maiorita I was snow_

_  
Nanika ga kowarete nanika ga umareru  
Kurikaeshi muda na koto sae  
Yamenai hito-tachi fushigi na hito-tachi  
Nagameru watashi mo fukumareta_

_Hodokenai mondai nado ari wa shinai to  
Shittete mo fukuzatsu na dankai ga monogatari tsukutte iku_

_Watashi ni mo tada hitotsu no ganbou ga moteru nara  
Kioku no naka saisho kara o hon ni shite madobe de yomu  
Peeji ni wa akai shirushi arawarete odoridasu  
Tsuraresou da to omou nante douka shiteru keredo  
Kinjirareta waado o tsubuyakeba saigo…_

_  
Dokoka e nigeru no doko ni mo nigenai  
Sore dake de kachi aru ishiki  
Megenai hito-tachi yasashii hito-tachi  
Ugokasareta watashi no mirai_

_Nagaredasu tsuyoi chikara shiawase yobu to  
Ki ga tsuita sono mama de hitsuyou na monogatari shirusaretara_

_Sonzai ga kawaru hodo no yume o motte mitaku naru  
Kanjou e to kyoukan e to tsunagareba madobe ni tachi  
Shizukesa ni dakarenagara mata kyou mo matte iru  
Yuruyaka ni furu mizu ja nakute motto sabishii tsubu_

_Iro ga nai sekai de  
Mitsuketa no You are star_

_  
Sonzai ga kawaru hodo no yume o motte mitaku naru  
Kanjou e to kyoukan e to tsunagareba madobe ni tachi  
Shizukesa ni dakarenagara mata kyou mo matte iru  
Yuruyaka ni furu mizu ja nakute motto sabishii tsubu_

_Oto mo nai sekai ni  
Maiorita I was snow_

(In English)

_I, who landed  
In a soundless world, was snow_

_  
Something will break, something will be born  
Those repeat, even for futile things  
The unstopping people, the strange people  
Included me who gaze at them_

_Unsolvable problems and such, even if I knew  
That they didn't exist, complicated stages would still create stories_

_If I possess just one wish, too  
Then I'll turn things from the start in my memories into a book and read it by the windowsill  
Red marks appear on the pages and begin to dance  
I think it's odd that I may be attracted  
But if I whisper the forbidden word, then it's the finale…_

_  
I'll escape to somewhere, I can't escape to anywhere  
Just with that, it's a consciousness with value  
The undiscouraged people, the kind people  
My future was moved_

_I've noticed that the powerful strength that flows out shouts for happiness  
If the required story is noted down as it is_

_I become wanting to try having a dream that makes my existence change  
If it's connected to my feelings, to my sympathies, then I'll stand by the windowsill  
While embraced by tranquility, I'm waiting again today  
Slowly falling- not water, but a lonelier grain_

_In a colorless world  
You, who I found, are star_

_  
I become wanting to try having a dream that makes my existence change  
If it's connected to my feelings, to my sympathies, then I'll stand by the windowsill  
While embraced by tranquility, I'm waiting again today  
Slowly falling- not water, but a lonelier grain_

_I, who landed  
In a soundless world, was snow_

Mikuru Asahina and I were both shedding tears at an alarming rate. Itsuki Koizumi and Emiri Kimidori both had their heads bowed. I'm so sorry Kyon. I could not save you, even though I loved you.

And there was still the matter of Haruhi Suzumiya to deal with. For once, I did not know what to do.

Suddenly, my sight blacked out. Then, I heard it.

"_Hello Nagato."_

"_Is that you, master?"_

"_Yes, it is me. I must offer my sincere congratulations to you for eradicating the rogue faction within our ranks. Thanks to you, Ryouko Asakura has finally been deleted."_

"_Master. What shall we do? There is a 98% chance that Haruhi Suzumiya will rewrite everything!"_

"_I know of one thing that I myself could do. It would make everybody happy."_

"_What would that be, master?"_

"_Lend me the final remnants of Haruhi Suzumiya's power."_

_I obliged, and I felt the power recede from my very being._

"_Alright Nagato, I'll take it from here."_

"_What exactly do you intend to do, master?"_

"_I will resurrect this human that Haruhi Suzumiya has chosen. Apparently, you have also chosen him. I will give my consent to that Nagato, as a reward on a job well done."_

_I felt tears stream down my face again, but instead, these were tears of joy._

"_Thank you master. I owe you many, many thanks."_

"_No problem Nagato. It's your just reward. Oh, did I mention that you've been promoted to second-in-command?"_

_I just nodded and said,_

"_Thank you very much.. Master."_

"_I'm not the Integrated Data Thought Entity for nothing, Nagato."_

I could suddenly see again. I immediately turned to where Kyon's body lay, and I saw him unsteadily getting to his feet.

"Ow," said Kyon. "My stomach.. Ach! Mikuru-chan, please don't rub it there! Yare yare.."

I could only vaguely comprehend Itsuki Koizumi and Emiri Kimidori's applause. Kyon turned towards me, and our eyes met.

"Hey Nagato. I wonder how I got out of that one? Did you have anything to do with it?"asked Kyon.

"Perhaps," I replied.

"Really? Well, in that case—"

Before Kyon could say anything else, I teleported beside him and gave him a warm hug. He hugged me back, and in that motion, I tried to convey everything I felt about Kyon.

"Kyon."

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I know Nagato. I love you too," he replied.

I lightly pulled his sleeve, and waited for his reaction. He looked at me and leaned closer to me. I tiptoed, and let our lips meet.

I could hear the other three applaud in the background, while I reveled in Kyon's resurrection.

We stood there for what seemed, even to me, like hours.

Finally, we broke apart. Then, Kyon said,

"Well Nagato, I guess we do get a happy ending, right?"

"Affirmative."

Then I tiptoed and kissed him again.

* * *

_A/N: There's still an epilogue coming everyone! :P_


	14. Epilogue

_Disclaimers as usual: Only Nagaru Tanigawa and Kyon may own Haruhi._

_

* * *

_

**Epilogue**

_I saw Asakura pin Nagato to the wall by impaling her with a multitude of flying daggers. I instinctively reacted and shouted,_

"_No! Nagato!"_

"_It is alright Kyon. I'm fine," answered Nagato from the wall._

"_Allow me to alter that, Nagato-san," said Asakura._

"_NOOOO! Nagato! Take me instead, you stupid alien!" I shouted at Asakura._

"Kyon-kun! Kyon-kun! Are you okay?"

I suddenly felt a gentle rap on my skull. I rubbed my bleary eyes with my hands and was surprised to find that they were wet. Rubbing the moisture away, I squinted at the source of the blow and my eyes fell on my sister.

"Yeah, I am," I answered sleepily.

"Were you having a nightmare?" she asked.

"I think I was, but I dunno.. What made you think that?"

"You were shouting Yuki-chan's name," she answered. "Was Yuki-chan in your nightmare?"

"Dunno. Now please, let me fix myself up. I have a date with Nagato to go off to."

As my sister left the room, I glanced at the clock that hung from my bedroom wall. 12:30 in the afternoon.

Oh shit. I was supposed to pick Nagato up in half an hour. I began to hurriedly undress and ran for the bathroom to take a quick shower.

* * *

I cursed fluently under my breath while I hurriedly rinsed soap from my body. What kind of boyfriend would be late on his first date with his lady? A crappy one. Even if I was nearly murdered yesterday, I didn't want to use that as an excuse. I didn't want to be classified as a crappy boyfriend, so here I am, toweling myself dry after five minutes in the shower, trying to race against time because I was running late for my date with Nagato.

I hastily dressed up, taking a random polo shirt from my closet, along with a pair of khaki pants that seemed to be too loose around my waist. I rummaged quickly for a belt, took out a pair of white socks, and donned them and my sneakers.

I looked at myself in the mirror and appraised myself. Hmm.. My hair could use some work but..

I glanced at my wall clock once again. 12:45 in the afternoon.

Shit. Never mind my hair, I'm going to be late, damn it. I ran out of the house, hastily bidding my mom and sister good bye, and made my way towards Nagato's apartment complex.

* * *

As I made my way towards Nagato's apartment, I thought about yesterday's events. I was only told afterwards about what really happened when I asked Nagato before I left her at her apartment to explain how I escaped death once again.

"_Hey, Nagato, before I go, can I ask you something?"_

"_What is it Kyon?"_

"_How did I escape death this afternoon?" I asked._

"_Technically, you actually died," replied Nagato. "You were dead for ten minutes and forty-five seconds."_

_I digested this, and asked,_

"_So what am I doing here, alive? How did you save me, Nagato?" I asked while gently holding her hands._

"_I gave up the powers that I took from Haruhi Suzumiya to the Integrated Data Thought Entity. Once the Entity controlled those powers, he performed an extremely advanced kind of data manipulation, something that I could never do. The Entity orchestrated your resurrection, to prevent Haruhi Suzumiya from reshaping reality to fit her whims and desires. That is why you are still here… with me," said Nagato softly._

_With strength that took me by surprise, she pulled me into another firm, but gentle bear hug._

"_I love you Kyon. I am happy that I was able to save you, even if it was only in an indirect manner," said Nagato._

_She tugged my shirt again, and before I could respond, she pulled me into another passionate kiss._

I smiled at the thought. No doubt more moments with Nagato were to come, since Haruhi didn't really care about us being together.

In that instant, another thought struck my mind, a thought that completely wiped the smile off my face, like hydrochloric acid easily disposing of bathroom grime.

I completely forgot that Haruhi told us to meet at the train station at ten in the morning for lunch. Oh crap. I am so dead. I did a 360 degree turn and ran for the train station as though my life depended on it. And knowing Haruhi, it could very easily be the case.

* * *

When I arrived at the train station, I glanced at my watch. One in the afternoon. I was _three_ hours late. Holy crap. I saw the four of them waiting for me. I approached them warily, Haruhi's eyes staring daggers at me.

"Kyon-kun, we went ahead and ate lunch without you, since you were taking so long," said Asahina-san, who was wearing a floral dress today.

"KYON!!! YOU'RE _THREE_ HOURS LATE! PENALTY OF THE HIGHEST ORDER! YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THE NEXT _TEN_ LUNCHES WE'RE GOING TO HAVE!!!" screamed Haruhi at the top of her lungs.

A few bystanders turned their heads towards the source of all the commotion. Haruhi stared daggers at them, and they thought better of it. I looked over at Koizumi and he just shrugged his shoulders. I turned to Asahina-san, and she was, needless to say, very frightened at Haruhi's reaction. Then my eyes fell on Nagato. She just giggled so quietly that anyone else would not have noticed it.

But I'm not just anyone else. I facepalmed and sighed loudly.

"Yare yare.."

It's going to be a _really_ long day…

* * *

_A/N: Thank you to everyone who read and commented for this fic until the very end. :D I really really appreciate it guys. To let you guys know, I'm going to write a sequel to this fic in the near future, when I get ideas for a plot. :P_


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